Pokemon: Lost Dreams
by Gune
Summary: In a post apocalyptic world, one man recounts the adventures of a young boy's journey to make his way in the world of Pokemon, written down in the boy's journal. Contains canon events from the games and anime. Rated M for language and violence.
1. Entry One

**Disclaimer: Pocket Monsters "Pokemon" created by Satoshi Tajiri and is published and owned by Nintendo.**

* * *

**Author's Note: ****Yo! This is my very first attempt at a Pokemon Fanfic. I've always had an idea for a story swirling around in my head but I was reluctant to go ahead with it due to the fact that while Pokemon is incredibly awesome, it was made for ages ten and up. This story is very dark although it does start out with somewhat of the normal made for kids Pokemon feel. As the story progresses, it will become a lot more gritty and reality based than what people are used to. I decided to go ahead with this story because I have read a few M rated works about Pokemon and the authors weren't hunted down and killed for putting a dark twist on the loveable monsters. So hopefully my take will be liked and my story enjoyed. As I stated in the summary I have canon events and characters scattered throughout the story from the games and anime, however, they won't follow a set stream of events. Sometimes (most of the time) they will be combined with bits and pieces of both the games and anime, starting right from the beginning of generation one, Red and Blue (or Green in Japan). Well here goes. Hope you all enjoy and review.  
**

* * *

**A Drakoneasho Studios Production**

**Written by: Gune**

* * *

**POKEMON**

**Lost Dreams**

* * *

**Prologue  
**

**ENTRY ONE**

* * *

**Personal Journal: Glenn Sommers  
**

_Entry one: Reasoning_

_March 3rd, 1996  
_

_Hello. First off if you're reading this journal without my permission, fuck you. If I said it's ok then cool. Hope I write something worth reading._

_Guess I should start off with a reason as to why I'm writing this. I don't know. People need reasons for everything. They need to discern the reasoning behind every little occurrence. Well the truth is...I don't know why I'm writing this. I guess because I'm bored or maybe I just need something to do. Something to focus on other than the utter chaos I've just thrown myself into. My life has never been anything special. I mean sure my parents are loaded, that is to say my **father's** loaded. My step mom never really made any money of her own, she's just upgraded from dating money to marrying money. My dad pretty much buys her anything she wants.  
_

_I guess she's loaded too._

_Carol isn't a bad person. Just think of it this way; whoever came up with the materialistic gold-digging stereotype for women used my stepmother as an inspiration._

_Anyway back to the point. Today I just ran away from home. I know it was nothing original but I don't care. I stole all the money out of my dad's wallet, which was a little upwards of two thousand dollars, and took off. For some reason, while I was in the store I decided to grab this journal and now I just decided to start jotting down my thoughts. I figure my life is gonna get pretty interesting now that I'm on my own._

_I couldn't deal with my dad anymore. He kept trying to groom me to be some super elite rich kid. This morning he told me he was sending me away to some stupid private school halfway across the country so I can get the **best education**. For some reason, he thinks that just because it's his dream for me to one day fill his shoes at Silph Co. and become the next big designer there, somehow that's my dream too._

_It's not by the way._

_I ran into an interesting bunch of guys the other day. Said they were heading out to Viridian City to join up with this new group that supposedly is offering a range of odd jobs to anyone willing to take them on. Even kids. I figure the money I got from my dad is more than enough to keep me fed until I can get down there. Still...this is probably going to be one hell of a journey. First off I'm gonna have to figure out how I'm going to make it across the country._

_Pocket Monsters are dangerous._

_If you don't believe me then you're friggin retarded. What? You think the trained and domesticated Pocket Monsters are the only ones in the world? Those animals came from the wild where they were once feral and out to eat anything living that crossed their paths. Your mom and dad didn't tell you not to go playing out in the woods by yourself for nothing. Oh and if we have met or if we do eventually meet don't ask me why I call Pokemon, Pocket Monsters. I mean think about it. People catch these mythical **monsters** and store them inside **pocket** sized devices._

_It just sounds better._

_Anyway...I guess I should get going. Hanging around outside a bakery all day isn't going to get me any closer to Viridian City._

_I'll be heading north along route five towards Cerulean City. But first I should probably go say goodbye to Sabrina. Weird is an understatement when it comes to her but she has always been nice to me. For some reason she's been the only one to ever actually listen to me when I discussed my grievances with life rather than writing me off as some spoiled rich kid who doesn't know how good he has it. No. Sabrina has always understood that money doesn't have to be the main focus of life and has always been there for me when I needed to vent my frustrations. For that she deserves a lot more than my gratitude. Her ability to see past the materialistic outlook on life most people have adapted to in this city is more than enough reason for me to pay her one last visit._

_Her being **extremely** cute doesn't hurt either._

_I just hope she doesn't decide to make me perform ballet for all of her trainers again. Those psychic powers of hers are brutal. I'm not saying I didn't deserve the joke...I mean I did try and sneak a peek of her in her changing room near the back of her gym but what do you expect from a twelve year old boy fascinated by the female form?_

_The **extremely** cute female form that is._

_Maybe if she didn't wear such tight jeans...and tight shirts...and tight spandex outfits...whoa this is turning into one of those romance novels now instead of my personal journal. Can't help it though. I said to myself, Glenn, whenever you write in this journal you're going to write down anything and everything that comes to mind as if you were recording your thoughts down on a tape...or something._

_Anyway it's getting on three o'clock so I better get moving. The gym shuts down around five or six everyday and I'm about an hour and a half away from it standing in front of this stupid bakery that's somehow **out** of chocolate chip cookies._

_Seriously how can a **bakery** be **out** of **chocolate chip cookies?**_

_Well...to whom it may concern this is the start of my adventure. I suppose I'm going to have to get myself a Pocket Monster if I want to have any chance of making it all the way to Viridian from Saffron but I don't know how I'm going to do it. Citizens aren't allowed to purchase Pocket Monster goods without a trainer license. Sure it's easy to acquire one, just go online and apply for one with Professor Oak's lab in Pallet Town. After that you can either go to the local Pocket Monster Center after choosing from a list of starter Pocket Monsters offered and collect it via transfer, or use a Pocket Monster you acquired through other means such as buying one or having one given to you by a friend or family member._

_It is illegal to own a Pocket Monster without some kind of license. Be it a trainer license, a breeder license, or even a police trainer license. It would be pretty simple to get one. I could even hold off on my adventure for a few weeks after being put on the waiting list to receive a starter Pocket Monster. However, there is one small snag with that plan._

_All citizens under the age of eighteen have to have written consent from a parent or legal guardian, verified on the online form sent to Pallet Town, before they are given a license._

_That kind of throws a wrench in my plans for getting some protection on my journey. To be perfectly honest though I don't mind the red tape. Pocket Monsters don't have that much appeal in my personal opinion. I could never really understand what everyone's fascination with the creatures was. I mean they **kill** people. They're pretty much the monsters in the stories parents tell their little ten year old kids. They're the things that go bump in the night._

_Don't get me wrong. I understand the need to capture and train them to obey us humans. The best defense against a Pocket Monster is another Pocket Monster. However, the thousands of frenzied kids that run off into forests and caves hoping to claim these beasts as their own only to be ripped to shreds have serious issues._

_I suppose now you're wondering how some twelve year old kid sounds a bit wiser than his years. Well I did tell you my parents are loaded right? I have been getting the best education in the largest most technologically advanced city in all of Kanto. Not to mention my dad is a scientific genius._

_Duh._

_I guess it doesn't hurt that I supposedly have an old soul. That's what Sabrina tells me anyway._ _Speaking of Sabrina...I should probably get moving. I mean it's getting late and she isn't going to ogle herself._

_I don't know why I decided to start this story of my adventure with an introduction and random thoughts. I'm well aware of the fact that journals are used to write down what people have done, not what they are about to do but I don't know. I figure it's **my** journal and I can write down whatever the hell I want. Oh well whatever. I'll make sure the next few entries are recounts of what happened to me and not what's about to happen to me._

_Well to whoever is reading this wish me luck with this whole starting a new life thing. Yeah...ok I guess that was kind of a stupid request. If you're reading this then pretty much everything in here has already happened. Well wish me luck anyway damnit. Maybe your thoughts will vibe backwards on the winds of time and grant me good fortune before I write this._

_Oh and definitely wish me luck with Sabrina. Maybe I can get a goodbye kiss from her before I leave town. Yeah, yeah I know she's nine years older than me but so what?_

_A guy can dream can't he?_

* * *

**Sinnoh Region, Twinleaf Town: May 5th, 2090**

* * *

Its cover was a deep burgundy, adorned with golden letters stitched into the thick fabric that read, Personal Journal. Below the mass produced design of golden letters the name Glenn Sommers was stitched into the journal cover. The owner's name, once a bright green, was now a dim emerald darkened and dirtied by the sands of time. A leather strap with a golden buckle used to keep the journal closed by clipping onto a small latch, hung loosely to the side.

A pale masculine hand with dirt stained fingernails slid from the cover of the journal onto a small table. It had been too long, nearly four days since the young man reading the journal had managed to acquire any means of sustenance other than the waning supply of water he kept stacked in bottles inside a small cabinet on the back right wall of his home. His short black hair brushed against his forehead as his gaze rose from the journal to a small filthy window near the front door of his home.

Slowly, the man stood and dust sprinkled down from the white unbuttoned short sleeve shirt he wore over a plain white t-shirt. A colorful design of blue stripes decorated the white fabric of the button down shirt. However, after years of neglect and no means of routine washing, dirt and grime distorted the decoration leaving nothing but a black and brown colored sight of filth. The once deep aqua blue colored jeans the man wore now suffered the same fate as his shirt. With several tears exposing pale knees and ankles, the faded garment was now a bright sky blue covered in dark brown mud and dust.

A loud creak echoed along the strong winds outside the man's home as he pushed open his front door. Long ago the display of carnage and hopelessness that lay before the man was once a peaceful spring of hope amidst a sea of adventure that was once Sinnoh. At least that's what his parents had told him, before the end of civilization. Before whatever evil that caused the destruction of all hope gripped the world.

During that time, when everything was falling apart, thousands of people, perhaps millions came up with many different theories and explanations as to why things went so very, very wrong. Several books were published about the war. Hundreds of studies were conducted on Pokemon, wild and domesticated. People wanted to know why the beasts that were once thought of as the guardians and companions of mankind suddenly decided to turn on their masters. People wanted to know why one culture and population of humans suddenly saw another culture and population as the enemy. Everyone wanted to know why. Everyone wanted a reason.

No one was concerned with stopping it.

Now instead of the calm cool breeze that once caressed the backs of would be Pokemon Masters just starting out on their journeys near the edge of Twinleaf, a hot, dry wind evaporated the sparkling curios eyes of the young. Instead of a cool refreshing pond full of laughing children and Pokemon, a near dried out poisonous pit of death steamed near the south edge of town. No longer did rows of welcoming homes with white picket fences line the streets of Twinleaf. Crumbling broken down and abandoned piles of ruble were mostly all that remained.

Governments had fallen. Borders no longer existed. There were no postal services. Schools and libraries were shut down and destroyed. Grocery stores and Pokemarts were raided decades ago.

At first, survival was a universal constant. Now, conquest and control has once again infected the hearts of humans. Even now as the ravenous beings known as Pokemon stalk the lands in search of human prey, humans themselves seek to control what is left of the dying land. Warriors and criminals fierce enough still manage to tame the wild beasts that wield mythical powers. Warriors that if only joined together could bring humanity back from the brink of extinction.

Instead they choose to recruit followers to their ever growing syndicates of crime and monarchical rule.

During the fall of mankind, there was one individual that instead of being obsessed with why the world was ending, attempted to stop it. Only bits and pieces of this individual's existence were ever recorded in official records. Yet still, his influence nearly saved mankind from its inevitable downfall. Now nearly one hundred years since his birth there have been some who have sought to study the life of the man that nearly saved civilization.

There have been those who sought to study how he failed.

Many once believed that studying the past might bring about a hopeful future. Many once believed that given the unique experiences of the individual that perhaps some could take up his failed quest at healing the world.

That was twenty years ago.

Now no one ever hopes. No one ever dreams. Surviving the constant nightmare of reality was the only thing people ever focused on. Avoiding the conscription squads sent out by the new warlords was amongst the main goals of everyday life for those that wished to live in peace. No one had ever dared to think of changing anything.

That is, until a small journal belonging to the man that nearly saved mankind was found.

Found by the most unlikely of individuals, the man born twenty years ago in Twinleaf Town thought. His mind pondered over several things since the journal came into his possession five months ago. At first he didn't know who the author of the journal was. The first few pages his eyes gazed upon were near the middle of the journal. There he read the few pages that sparked his interest in the author and led him to foolishly risk his life by visiting Sandgem Town. There he snuck into a once abandoned lab that is now an outpost for one of the many armies of conquerors spread throughout the land. The lab was special, since it was the only source of electronic information the man knew of.

Powered by Pokemon with electrical abilities, the computers inside the laboratory held records of mankind's history. Before the internet collapsed several individuals stored as much information about humanity into their computers as they could. Professor Rowan of Sandgem town was one such individual. He was also a personal acquaintance of the man who nearly saved mankind.

Needless to say the Twinleaf resident nearly became a meal for one of the many beasts of the many Pokemon Tamers that guarded the facility after almost being forced to join the ranks of their army. He managed to escape though, with only a small glance at the information he desired. However, that small glance was more than enough. Amongst the sea of information about the fall of mankind, the name of the author spouted five personal files created by the professor about the would be hero. One of those files happened to be the pokedex information the author was sending to the professor. In that file, the Twinleaf resident's eyes took in a sight no other human besides the professor had seen for several decades until the laboratory's new owners had moved in. The author of the journal had managed to send detailed information on a Pokemon thought to have only existed in fairytales. The name still echoed in the Twinleaf resident's mind even now five months later after he had finally built up the courage to read the journal again.

_Dialga._

The thought sent a chill of fear down his spine. How could someone, _anyone_ have actually captured a god? There was no possible way. Not unless the god had allowed its capture, which spoke volumes about the author of the journal. The Twinleaf resident knew little of the _Deity Trio_, but even in his time, lore of the beasts still drifted around the small patches of humans scattered throughout the land. The man knew that what he was about to read would be a look into things very few people understood. Things almost no one would ever understand. In his opinion, reading the journal was an adventure in its own right.

Decay and despair flowed along the hot wind into the lungs of the Twinleaf resident as he inhaled his final breath of fresh air before returning to the confines of his small unnoticeable home near the outskirts of town. To his surprise the journal still sat atop the old wooden table in the center of the one room house. The man had half expected his acquisition of the journal and his escape from Sandgem to have been mere hallucinations. Yet there it was, the journal that may hold the very secrets of existence, gazing up at him from his table.

Slowly, the man stepped over to the table and sat down. Once again his hands caressed the cover of the journal before finally gripping the edge and opening the book.


	2. Psychic Realization

**...  
**

**POKEMON  
**

**Lost Dreams  
**

* * *

**Chapter One**

**PSYCHIC REALIZATION**

* * *

_Entry Two: Sabrina_

_March 3rd, 1996_

_So I bet now you're wondering, 'why did he title a chapter of his journal that is supposed to be about his life with the name of a completely different person?' right? Well there's a perfectly good reason for that. It's **my** journal. Also, here's some good advice for anyone reading **my** journal if I happen to be with you._

_Shut the hell up with all of your stupid questions._

_Now...where was I? Oh yeah! Well I managed to make it over to the Saffron gym a good hour before it closed down for the day. I got to see Sabrina wipe the floor with a bunch of snot nosed little punks that dared to think they had the right to ogle at her beauty._

_That right is mine and mine alone._

_So as it turns out, Sabrina wasn't as on board with my plans as I thought she would be. She even tried convincing me to stay. Most people see Sabrina as some fearsome witch with a sharp mind and a cold heart. It isn't true though. Yeah she's power hungry but who isn't this day and age? Everyone wants their perceived to be **deserved** piece of the pie. I myself am no different. It's just instead of power or a mansion or something stupid like that, my pie is freedom. The freedom to do whatever I want whenever I want._

_954-555-8686_

_After our long talk about how I'm going to survive on my journey, Sabrina offered to let me stay with her at her apartment. I had originally planned on heading out after a short goodbye but Sabrina convinced me to stay with two simple facts. One: I was crazy for even considering traveling the countryside without a Pocket Monster. Two: Anyone who traveled the countryside at night, even some people that **owned** Pocket Monsters, had a death wish. Those facts were extremely convincing for me. Of course there was a third fact that I don't think Sabrina caught on to that was really the only reason why I decided to stay._

_I GET TO SPEND THE NIGHT WITH SABRINA IN HER HOOOOOUUUSSSSSSSE._

_Oh yeah if I didn't mention it before, I'm twelve years old so this journal is gonna be riddled with **a lot** of immaturity. Don't worry it will be intelligent immaturity...sometimes. Anyway it's getting late and I have a big day ahead of me. I don't want to be too drowsy on the first morning of my new life so it's time to put the pen down and stop writing._

_Also I just saw Sabrina heading off towards her bedroom and it looks like she's getting ready to change..._

* * *

**Saffron City: March 3rd 1996**

* * *

Dawn had long since come and gone and the bright yellow sun, which was now a dim orange that once reflected off the thousands of windows that filled the hundreds of skyscrapers that lined the ground of Saffron City now trailed off towards the other side of the world. There were no large amounts of dirt or grime covering the bright shining steel and well maintained concrete that made up the businesses and facilities scattered throughout the city. Hundreds of men, the construction workers, the garbage collectors, the window washers, and their Pokemon maintained the city's status as the brightest in Kanto.

Glenn Sommers, the small twelve year old boy that ran away from an unwanted life of inherited privilege and empty status, made his way through the crowded streets of his hometown. Even though it hadn't yet reached five o'clock, when millions of citizens would rush from their daily jobs towards a relaxing night on the town, the sidewalks still harbored hundreds of civilians and trainers. Several hundred cars still roared down the black pavement. These were the people that would take up the many graveyard shifts that almost all businesses required to sort things out before the next workday.

_Bastards should be home sleeping_. Glenn thought to himself.

Normally he would welcome the crowds, enjoying most interactions he had with different people. Today, however, they were slowing him down and he didn't have much time before Sabrina shut down her gym. It was very frustrating. Why couldn't everyone understand that he was in a hurry? Glenn shrugged the latent anger off, refusing to sink into any type of bad mood so soon after leaving home and grabbing a slice of his freedom pie. Instead, to pass the time, he began running through his memories and knowledge of the city.

Saffron was one of the most famous cities in the world, which meant tourists from countless different countries and cultures would come to visit the _Shining Golden Land of Commerce._ Glenn remembered reading online that there were talks of a train station being built to connect Saffron City in Kanto with Golden Rod City in Johto. Although the green light hadn't officially been given and the project was still only being talked about, Glenn somehow knew that eventually his hometown would someday be an even brighter spot on the planet.

Thinking about it made him homesick.

However, he quickly shook the thought away as he got ready to cross one of the busy streets. It was the city he would miss, not his actual home. Glenn quickly made it across the street with a brisk jog that put him a good ten feet ahead of the crowds. The Saffron gym wasn't too far away now. The gym was constructed near the center of the city, almost right next to Silph Co., his father's place of employment. Glenn's dad never liked it when he went to visit Sabrina. His father was actually one of the few scientists within the city that had a level of distaste for Pokemon. Glenn's head began to hurt whenever he would think about the odd coincidence. One of the top scientists in the city, employed at _the_ most prestigious Pocket Monster equipment research and development facility in the world, had a slight distaste for Pocket Monsters.

And so did his son.

Useless juvenile cockfighting is what he called it. Pocket Monster battling. That wasn't what made Glenn's blood boil. No. It was the fact that his father believed anyone who would commit their lives to Pocket Monster battling was no better than a common criminal. A useless urchin that leeched off of society like a common beggar. His father, the great doctor Connor Sommers, once referred to Sabrina as one of these urchins.

That was the day Glenn had decided to leave.

The thought of leaving had been swirling around in his mind for some time but the events that day were enough to push him over the edge of thinking into the sea of action. Now as Glenn stepped up beside his father's illustrious place of business an unrelenting distaste he felt for the man burned inside his chest. Glenn never really cared much for Pocket Monster battling but his heart held a deep affection for the gym leader Sabrina. Anyone that insulted her character, without even _meeting_ her first, could claim no level of respect from Glenn. That included his father. Glenn scoffed at the thought of his old man then turned his back on Silph Co. and walked off towards the Saffron City gym.

Three blocks and twenty minutes later, Glenn found himself gazing up at the large building where the Saffron Gym Leader Sabrina ran a strict disciplined chapter of psychic Pokemon training and the study of psychic phenomenons. The sight of the structure almost always took the young boy's breath away. Twelve massive round spires extended from the ground several meters into the air, forming a round half dome lavender colored roof similar to that of a crab shell. The base of the building, where an entrance covered by two large shatterproof glass doors, was decorated by a plain light blue paint.

Inside, Glenn smirked at the sheer simplicity Sabrina's gym appeared to radiate. To the average person, such as Glenn, the inside of the structure was nothing more than a dark dismal arena. Six lavender pillars three on the left and right sides of the gym held up the roof of the building along with four additional pillars near the back wall of the structure. In the center of the gym, surrounded by a light blue marble floor, a stone arena as brown as the gym walls stretched out across the floor. White paint lined the borders of the battleground.

In reality, this was all there was to be seen inside the gym. However, when battling trainers eager to receive the Marsh Badge, Sabrina's psychic powers would warp the perception of each person that walked through the glass door entrance. Suddenly, what appeared to be a straight forward walk to the arena would turn into a confusing and sometimes bruising test of wit. Sabrina held the incredible ability to teleport herself or anyone she wished anywhere on the planet. This ability, among many others, was the reason why some individuals showed fear instead of respect towards the gym leader. Sabrina did not implement the test for every trainer that wanted a challenge. To do so would put a strain on someone with even her level of ability. However, at least five trainers to visit the gym seeking the Marsh badge would end up having to navigate a maze of invisible walls. Once they reached the correct area Sabrina would teleport them to a new section until they finally reached her at the back of the gym where she usually awaited atop her bright crimson throne.

Today Sabrina had saved her final test for the last challenger to enter the halls of her gym. He was the typical sight for new trainers, a small boy no older than eleven years old. The short green hair pointing three inches on either side of his head was covered by a white cap that was turned backwards and off to the left. He wore a green unzipped short sleeve jacket with a black t-shirt underneath and black baggy jeans that covered a good portion of his black sneakers. Glenn glanced over the outfit for a few moments thinking that it wasn't half bad. He thought maybe he'd buy something similar as he glanced down at his own clothes, a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans. The thought of having a friendly conversation with the young trainer and asking him where he acquired his clothes crossed Glenn's mind for a handful of moments.

That is, until the trainer spoke.

"You arrogant _bitch_!" The trainer shouted in anger and frustration.

Sabrina's blank stare, enveloped within a calm emotionless demeanor, remained the same as she spoke. "Some earn the right to display a show of arrogance while others only drown within its sea of deceit."

Glenn smirked at that comment stifling his urge to burst out laughing.

The trainer blinked, gazing out at Sabrina, making no attempts at hiding his confusion. "What?" He shouted.

"You spirit requests a battle with me?" Sabrina's question was more of a statement. "Then let us go, the arena awaits."

The trainer kept his eyes glued to the gym leader as she rose from her throne then glided past him towards the arena. "You..." He could not control the anger seeping out from his chest. "You can't just put people through some whacked out maze like that and then expect them to be able to battle!"

"So you wish to forfeit your right to challenge me?" Sabrina's voice never lost its elegant tone as she continued to walk towards the arena.

"It's not fair!" The trainer screamed.

"That is the rule of life." Sabrina took her place inside the painted borders of the arena.

"Cheater!" The trainer growled while reluctantly stomping his way towards his position inside the arena.

Glenn couldn't resist speaking up at the trainers last accusation. "Pocket Monster league rules indicate that gym leaders retain the right to test individuals that seek to challenge them for their badges. These tests may be psychological or even physical in nature as long as they do not injure the challenger or the challenger's Pocket Monsters. Some gym leaders test new challengers by having their gym chapter members battle the challenger before the official gym battle. This is the only test new challengers may refuse as it can result in their Pocket Monsters being severely weakened before their match with the gym leader. However, most challengers accept this test as the gym leader is required to reward the challenger with an extra amount of prize money if the challenger manages to defeat the gym leader and the leader's subordinate trainers."

A small smile crept onto Sabrina's face at the sight of the young boy near the gym entrance. No one saw the smile except the boy and the smile would never have been allowed if other people besides the trainer, who currently had his back to her, were inside the gym.

The trainer glanced up at Glenn, a bit of shock covering his face as he did not hear the boy enter. "What?" His anger quickly returned. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He shouted.

"It means that in my gym, my rules apply." Sabrina stated with a soothing voice that did not fit her battle ready stance.

Glenn couldn't take his eyes off of the beautiful young woman standing inside the gym arena. His preteen hormones danced as his vision took in the sight of Sabrina dressed in her favorite battling uniform.

Tight black spandex pants, which ran up from inside a pair of dark magenta boots laced with golden innards, covered her legs and disappeared beneath a short magenta skirt. The black fabric also covered Sabrina's tight thin stomach and, starting from just below her _sizable_ bosom, a magenta turtleneck sweater clung tightly to the top half of her body. Sabrina's long blue hair was so dark that at first glance one could mistake it to be more charcoal in color. Her white gloves were always swallowed up by her long flowing forest of hair every time she would reposition it.

Sabrina held her right hand up in front of her chest. Seconds later a small red and white colored sphere shot through the air into Sabrina's hand from the arm of her throne. Sabrina's face remained expressionless even as the fear and confusion plastered on the young trainer's face, which would beg any normal person to laugh or at least smile with confidence, intensified. The psychic gym leader pressed the button built into the center of the sphere causing the object to increase three times in size then tossed it forward. A split second after the ball hit the stone floor the top red half of the device popped open with a loud explosion of bright white light. The ball bounced from the ground, returning to Sabrina's hand while the light began to take shape. A few seconds later the light reformed from a bright shapeless blast into a large creature that stood at four feet, three inches.

_Kadabra._ The name echoed inside Glenn's mind.

It was almost human-like in its appearance but also retained a more animalistic fox-like form. Two large ears twitched on the top of either side of its head, a red star-shaped symbol decorated its forehead, and two somewhat sinister-looking eyes glared out from the middle of its face. Its eyes lead down to its nose and mouth and its relatively large mustache that grew out on the narrower section of its face. On both of its arms, there were brown sections located on the shoulder region of its body. Its arms were fairly thin and consisted of its regular yellow-hued skin. Each of its hands, with a spoon clutched tightly in the right one, had three fingers each adorned with a large white claw. Its torso contained a brown section of body similar to a fauld and an insect-like abdomen below it, which had three red wavy lines. Attached to this abdomen was a huge, thick tail, which was mostly yellow with a band of brown circling it. Its legs were very thin and also yellow. Its feet each had three toes: two in the front on each side, and one in the back near the ankle. Each of these toes had a large white claw attached to it.

"Ha!" The trainer yelled as the Kadabra glared at him from across the arena. "I'm not afraid of your mind readers!" His hand snatched one his own red and white spheres from a belt around his waist and tossed it forward. "Stingy! Go!"

A creature resembling a bipedal wasp appeared onto the battlefield next. Its head was round with a slightly pointed mouth and large shiny red eyes. Its antennae took the shape of the number seven. Its four legs were connected to its body by its thorax, the first two tipped with long conical stingers. It stood on its other two legs, which were long, segmented, and insectoid in shape. Rounded, veined wings, and another stinger were attached to its abdomen, which was encircled by two black stripes.

Glenn grimaced. A Beedrill? Sabrina might be in trouble. While he didn't retain a vast knowledge of Pocket Monsters, as he never really took an interest in them, one of the first things he learned from Sabrina, besides how badly he would be punished if he ever attempted to see her naked again, was that if there was one thing psychic Pocket Monsters absolutely couldn't stand, it was bug types. Glenn frowned at the thought of this jerk beating his _should be_ girlfriend.

If concern for the bug Pokemon had flooded Sabrina's emotions, she didn't show it. Her face remained the stone cold expressionless slate it had been since the trainer arrived. Not even the gym leader's eyes gave hint to what was going on inside her mind. However, one creature inside the gym knew exactly what Sabrina was thinking. In fact this creature could hear her every thought.

That creature was Kadabra.

_Abe, hit it with confusion._ Sabrina spoke through a telepathic link she recently established with her Pokemon after it took the field. _And watch out for the stingers. Don't give it any hints as to the nature of your true speed. Draw it in close and then attack._

"So are you gonna attack or are you too scared?" The trainer sneered.

Two seconds later Abe's eyes sharpened while his clawed hands stretched out in front of his body. The space in front of Abe seemed to contort and bend, reshaping itself into a round swirling vortex of energy.

The trainer's confident smirk faded and was replaced by pure bewilderment. "What is it doing? You're letting it fight on its own?" He frowned as Sabrina remained expressionless and silent. "What kind of strategy can you hope to pull off without helping your Pokemon out with commands?"

Abe's confusion attack shot forward at a slight angle and curved towards the right side of Stingy, giving the creature more than enough time to evade the blast if its trainer was competent enough to give the command.

"Dodge it, Stingy! To the right!" The trainer shouted.

Loud buzzing echoed inside the gym as Stingy's wings kicked up dust while he jumped to the right, narrowly dodging the confusion attack.

One of the most common moves that all trainers liked to equip their Beedrill with was the effective long range attack, Pin Missile. Sabrina knew this and was more than prepared to counter the attack but preferred to keep her Pokemon's unique speed a secret and end the battle quickly. Although Sabrina was the Saffron City Gym Leader, the psychic Pokemon Master was not very fond of battling. The reasons she decided to take over the gym was a mix between a sense of family obligation and funding for her study of psychic phenomenons.

In short, she was bored and wanted to get the battle over with.

Fortunately for Sabrina, the hot tempered trainer was already infuriated by the test of patience he had been subjected to earlier. Now his anger had reached its boiling point as he realized that the Saffron Gym Leader could somehow command her Pokemon without talking.

_Arrogant bitch._ His venomous thoughts echoed inside his mind.

"Charge it Stingy! Kadabra are slow as hell! Charge in there and hit it with your Twineedle attack!" The trainer ordered.

Stingy grunted his acknowledgment then shot forward through the air with great speed with his large needle covered legs raised. When it was within one meter of Abe it blasted forward shooting its right stinger out towards the Kadabra's face.

_Now!_ Sabrina commanded.

Abe's eyes widened as an intense surge of strength exploded inside his legs, launching his body into the air three feet above Stingy a split second before the bug's stingers tore a hole in his face.

_Use Psybeam now!_

A bright crimson enveloped Abe's eyes a second before large multicolored rings of light shot out from them. The rings flew down at a slant from Abe's eyes, engulfing Stingy's body and smashing into the arena. The stunned Beedrill was thrown back into the air and blood poured out from several freshly opened wounds that covered its body. The dark crimson liquid rained down across the arena floor until Stingy finally hit the ground at his trainer's feet. The bug twitched on the floor, unable to do much else.

The trainer growled as he lowered his stare from Sabrina's emotionless gaze to the floor while tightly squeezing his pokeball in silent anger. "It's ok Stingy, come back and take a rest." His eyes rose again to meet Sabrina's gaze. "So you think just because I can't hear what your attacks are before they happen that you got the advantage?" He smirked as he gripped the last pokeball nestled in his belt. "Well let's see how you handle this!" His hand pulled back then shot forward, tossing his final Pokemon out onto the field. "Get 'em Butter!"

The trainer's pokeball bounced off of the floor after releasing the creature within and returned to his hand.

An dark purplish blue insect roughly three feet in height with four pale blue legs materialized onto the battlefield. Large white veined wings, covered in fine scales with black markings fluttered on the insect's back. Black spots decorated the bottom halves of the wings. Large reddish compound eyes reflected the light inside the arena and a small pale blue nose sat in the middle of its face. Small hairs covered its legs.

Glenn searched his memory banks for the name of the creature flying across the arena. _Butterfree. Yeah that's it._

"Butter! Use sleep powder!" The trainer shouted.

Butter flew high into the air while screeching loudly. As it neared its opponent, its wings began to glow a bright white.

_Disable it!_ Sabrina commanded.

Abe's right hand shot upwards, launching his spoon into the air below Butter. As Abe concentrated, the spoon began to spin with blinding speed while a bright red glow enveloped the utensil. One second after a sleep inducing powder began to fall from Butter's flapping wings, a bright crimson shockwave of energy exploded from the spoon and enveloped the shocked insect.

Butter screeched as it lost control over its body, its abilities, and its wings. The frightened insect plummeted towards the hard stone floor from a height upwards of forty feet.

"Butter! Hang in there girl!" The worried trainer screamed.

_Finish it off with Psychic!_ Sabrina ordered.

Butter's body froze two inches from the floor as a bright blue aura engulfed the insect. Abe's sinister glare grew even more intimidating three seconds before he used his telekinetic abilities to fling the frightened Butterfree across the the arena and slam her into the ground at her trainer's feet.

The trainer let out a mournful sigh of defeat before recalling his Pokemon to its ball. "Good job, Butter. We'll do better next time." His eyes sharpened as his glare rose to meet Sabrina's calm form. "You must be real proud of yourself."

"Pride is a wasted illusion." Sabrina recalled Abe to his pokeball.

A thin line of bright red light shot from the center of the device and enveloped the psychic Pokemon, causing the creature itself to become the light and was sucked back into the pokeball. Sabrina pressed the button on the ball, causing it to return to its pocket sized dimensions and then returned it to its place on the arm of her throne.

"Be gone." Sabrina said before turning her back to the trainer.

Shocked and infuriated, the trainer growled at the gym leader. "I'll be back, bitch! And next time I'll be ready! You can only mess up people's game with that stupid mind game you play on them before a battle once! _Real_ trainers don't need cheap parlor tricks to win battles!" He shouted with a clenched fist raised to emphasize his anger.

"Shut up." Glenn said simply with a condescending smirk covering his face as he walked past the defeated trainer. "She has a Venemoth that she could have used to wipe the floor with you. Instead she chose to let you keep the advantage by using only a purely psychic Pocket Monster." He stifled a laugh as he continued. "So pretty much if you weren't a hot headed moron and didn't let her test frustrate you into a blind rage before the battle, you would have done a lot better against her seeing as how bugs are strong against psychic types." Glenn stopped and turned to face the trainer who was still trembling with anger.

"She would have still beat the shit out of you though." His smirk widened into a cocky smile. "Now," he turned then continued towards the back of the gym and with his final words to the trainer, attempted to imitate Sabrina's snobbish upper-class tone, "be gone."

The trainer clenched both of his fists and held them down at his sides, literally seething in anger. Deep frustrated breaths shot in and out of his mouth through gritted teeth. Seconds later the trainer turned and stomped off towards the gym exit, swearing to himself he would return and give both the gym leader and her lackey a well deserved thrashing.

Sabrina collected her pokeballs from her throne then turned to face Glenn, whom she noticed was staring at her backside the entire time. "What did I tell you about..." Her cold emotionless expression softened into a warm smile as she folded her arms across her chest. "You little pervert."

"_Your_ little pervert." Glenn corrected with a dazed smile.

The warmth of Sabrina's smile turned mischievous as an idea popped into her mind. Several giggles escaped the Saffron gym leader after she gave her young friend a psychic wedgie, nearly pulling the poor boy's underwear completely out and over his head.

Glenn jumped in fright and pain as he grasped at his boxers, unable to lower them. "Ok, ok ow! _Ok!_ I get the point!"

Sabrina released him after a few more seconds then sat down on her cushioned throne, letting out a fatigued sigh. Glenn stepped up beside her and tilted his head to the side, wondering what was wrong.

"Don't tell me that guy was actually tough enough to tire you out?" Glenn couldn't believe his own words.

"Not him." Sabrina shook her head. "Non stop battling all day and warping perceptions with psychokinesis can ware out the best of us." Her head turned to Glenn. "Something happen to you today?"

"Huh?" Glenn took a step back with surprise spreading out across his face. "How did you know that?"

"Well I am psychic you know." Sabrina smiled.

Laughter escaped Glenn's throat before he answered. "Well something did happen today. I wouldn't necessarily say it happened _to_ me rather than _because _of me."

"So...what happened?" Sabrina wondered.

Glenn loved how Sabrina would never invade his privacy and read his mind as she did to almost anyone else she encountered. The young psychic had been betrayed several times in the past and decided that unless she trusted and respected someone, everyone would be subject to her mind probes.

"I ran away from home." Glenn said flatly.

"You what?" Sabrina snapped as her eyes widened in shock.

"I ran away from..." Glenn repeated.

"I heard you the first time." Sabrina shook her head in frustration. "Why? Why would you run away?"

"I figured it was time to move on." Glenn folded his arms.

"You're _twelve_ years old!"

"With an old soul."

"You have no money!"

"I've already got a job lined up...sort of."

"Who would hire a twelve year old?" An assumption sprang to life at the back of Sabrina's mind. "You're not thinking of becoming a Pokemon trainer are you?"

"Maybe." Glenn wasn't really fond of the idea but he knew that he'd eventually need a Pocket Monster if only to ensure that he could survive long enough _not_ to need one.

Sabrina narrowed her eyes at Glenn's last statement and folded her arms. "Your father would never allow that. Glenn, what's really going on?"

Glenn lowered his gaze to the ground at the mention of his father and wondered if Sabrina would probe his mind if he refused to tell her the truth. He knew that she trusted him but was also well aware of the fact that adults always took it upon themselves to invade the privacy of children when they felt they were protecting the child.

Sabrina reached out and gently placed her hand on Glenn's shoulder. "It's ok. If you don't want me to know then I won't know." Her warm smile returned as Glenn gazed up into her eyes. "I just want to be sure you're ok."

Glenn smiled at this and felt the blood rushing to his cheeks, coloring them a bright red as he stared into Sabrina's eyes. "Thanks."

Sabrina stood from her throne and turned to Glenn. "Come on." She said, locking down the gym and shutting off its power with her telekinetic abilities. "We can talk about this more at my place. Wait here while I go change."

_Her place!_ Glenn found himself grinning from ear to ear, mesmerized by the thought. Then his mind recalled what she had said to him only ten seconds ago.

She was going to go change.

Risking another psychic beat down, Glenn snuck off after Sabrina towards her changing room.

* * *

**Sabrina's Penthouse: Two Hours Later**

* * *

Small apartment sized homes were constructed into different sections of most Pokemon gyms throughout the world. There were many reasons for this. Control over the majority, if not all gyms, was usually passed down through family generations. This fact led many to build their homes inside the gyms as to show the strong family connection their bloodline held with being the Pokemon leaders of a town or city. While a special contract was created between gym leaders and the government, granting the leaders special funding for maintaining the buildings and rewarding prize money, gym leaders themselves were given relatively small salaries. Many built their homes inside gyms to avoid the costs of mortgage or rent and the countless other bills that came with owning a home. Inside the gym, everything was government funded, including the gym leader's home.

Sabrina was different, given the fact that through her psychic phenomenon research, she was paid a second more generous salary by the government for her work. Instead of living in the home her grandfather had constructed inside the gym several decades ago, Sabrina rented a lavish penthouse apartment inside one of the tall steel skyscrapers near the edge of the city.

Glenn's mouth remained open and his shock plastered across his face at the sight of the apartment. Large rectangular windows made up most of the living room walls of the apartment, allowing a birds-eye-view of the entire city. It was truly a breathtaking sight to see the hundreds of skyscrapers adorned with thousands of lights and neon signs blinking and sparkling in the night.

Sabrina kept one plasma screen television set attached to one of the few plaster walls near the back of the living room around the corner from the bathroom. Further down the hall, Glenn knew, was the gym leader's bedroom. Glenn received this information from the rather intimidating threats he got from Sabrina when she was illustrating what she would do if she ever caught him sneaking towards that area of the apartment. Three large twelve foot sofas, each a dark lavender stretched along three of the windowed walls of the living room. In the center of the room, a glass table with black curved brass legs held up a small flowerpot filled with red roses. The tan walls held no pictures or decorations.

"What?" Sabrina stared at Glenn for a handful of moments.

"It's just..." Glenn glanced around the living room.

"What?" Sabrina demanded while placing her hands on her hips.

"Well." Glenn scratched the back of his head. "I thought your place would look a little more...weird."

"Weird?" Sabrina asked, confused.

"Well I mean because of the way you act at the gym and because most psychics are kinda loopy..."

"_Act_ is the key word in that sentence and psychic people are not _loopy_. That's just a stereotype." Sabrina frowned.

Glenn held his hands up in surrender and then lowered them, gazing out at Sabrina for no apparent reason.

This again caused Sabrina to glance around her apartment and then even herself, thinking something had spilled onto her clothes. "What?"

"Nothing..." Glenn smiled.

Sabrina truly was beautiful, Glenn thought. Even more so now that she was out of her battling uniform and in her normal clothes. A short magenta string-sleeved tank top barely covered the top half of Sabrina's body, leaving her tight enticing tummy for all the world to see. Tight white jeans held up loosely by a black silver buckled belt draped over the pink shoes covering the gym leader's feet. Two large emerald bracelets covered her small wrists giving her style a hint of elegance.

_If only there wasn't such a stigma against guys my age being with women her age..._ Glenn thought. _She can pedophile me anytime._

Sabrina sighed in annoyance after folding her arms, finally realizing what Glenn was doing. "Pervert."

"Only when I'm with you." Glenn smiled.

Sabrina held in a laugh before walking over to and sitting down on one of her sofas. A second later she patted the cushion next to her signaling for Glenn to come sit beside her. The young preteen had no problem obeying the gym leader's request and almost tripped over the carpet and then the table trying to rush over to her. Sabrina only shook her head and laughed softly.

Glenn hopped up onto the sofa and leaned towards Sabrina, giving the psychic his full attention. "Yes my love?"

"You're gonna make some girl really happy or _really_ creeped out with all the attention you give to women you've got a crush on." Sabrina said while gently pushing Glenn back a few inches.

"Would you be talking about yourself in four years when I will be of legal age to date you?" Glenn wondered.

"Keep dreaming."

"If you only knew."

"Shut up." Sabrina chuckled. "Let's get back to what's important."

"What could be more important than our future love?"

"Your traveling plans."

At that Glenn's smile faded. His mind had been made up a long time ago, it was his heart that had been lacking the will to act that kept him in Saffron City. His eyes trailed off to the breathtaking view of the city, catching the sight of a small flock of Pidgey flying home for the night. Was he really going to miss the big city that much? Was he really thinking about staying? No. Leaving was his only option. Kids did it every day. They left home and went off on grand adventures with their Pocket Monsters by their side.

_But I don't need one._

Sabrina remained silent, letting Glenn gather his thoughts and sort out his emotions. She waited until a deep sigh left him and his gaze returned to her. The Saffron gym leader had always known her young friend held a hidden pain within his heart. A pain that most children, including herself, hold at one point or another. The yearning for freedom and the realization that the freedom may never come until adulthood is reached. However, as the psychic gazed deep into Glenn's eyes she noticed that there was something more, something that may be hidden even from the young boy himself.

"You want some ice cream?" Sabrina said, a sudden smile appearing on her face.

"Psychics eat ice cream?" Glenn asked with mock confusion.

A small growl and hiss escaped the gym leader. "You..."

A wide toothy smile spread across Glenn's face, causing Sabrina to break down into a fit of laughter before she led her friend to the kitchen. The dining area within Sabrina's apartment was small and simple like the rest of her home. One table, modest in size, born from fresh oak wood sat in the center of the blue tiled floor of the kitchen. Around the table three pale blue counters built into the walls of the apartment held up several electric cooking devices and utensils. A line of cupboards lined the walls above the counters.

Sabrina dug into the refrigerator that hummed near the end of the right wall counter and pulled out a cylinder box of chocolate ice cream. As she sat across from Glenn, one of her cupboards opened at her telekinetic command and a pair of bowls and spoons floated down to the wooden table. Glenn leaned forward, placing his head in his hands, and enjoyed the psychic show.

"You gotta teach me how to do that one day." Glenn suggested.

"Can't. You have to learn it before it can be taught." Sabrina smiled.

"What?"

"I discovered my abilities on my own. After that I was tutored on how to control them."

"Is it like that for all psychics?"

"Every one that I've heard of. I think you either have the gift or you don't. Psychics can be taught how to better control their powers but they have to discover their abilities on their own." Sabrina explained.

Glenn considered Sabrina's information for a moment while taking in a spoonful of ice cream. "So I got no chance do I?"

"Nope." Sabrina giggled. "Afraid not. The latest age anyone has ever been recorded developing psychic abilities is eight years old."

"I might still have a chance. I've always been late to everything important my whole life."

Sabrina couldn't hold in her laughter at that statement. The two seemed to want to avoid the discussion of Glenn's inevitable departure. The conversation almost returned to that very subject before another distraction caught Sabrina's eye. It was a small brown book with golden letters stitched into the cover. Sabrina couldn't quite make out what the words said as the book was stuffed halfway into Glenn's large front pocket.

"What's that?" Sabrina pointed with her ice cream covered spoon.

Glenn glanced down and his journal filled his vision. "Oh this?" He said grabbing the book from his pocket. "It's just a journal."

"Plan on chronicling your adventures?" Sabrina teased.

"Something like that, yeah." Glenn said.

Sabrina sighed and her lips formed a small smile. She knew that if her friend had bothered to stop and buy a journal just so he could write about his experiences on his journey then there was probably no real way to talk him out of it. It would pain her deeply to see him go. Although she would never tell him, Glenn was Sabrina's closest friend. Perhaps her only true friend. However, it was no one's fault but her own. Interactions with others were always kept brief and strictly business oriented. Sabrina never went out to social places such as bars or movie theaters. Instead she devoted herself solely to the study of humans and Pokemon gifted with psychic abilities and the very nature of psychic ability itself. She craved the knowledge, if only to increase her own power. Her obsessions kept most people at bay and those who did interact with her soon regretted doing so. Sabrina sometimes worried that she might be becoming something of a villain, a power obsessed lunatic, but she has always been able to brush the thought away for one reason.

Glenn.

* * *

**Flashback: February 8th, 1990**

* * *

One year after Sabrina had returned from her travels with her Pokemon across Kanto, the psychic Pokemon trainer wanted nothing more than to prove to the world that she was the best. When she defeated her father and took over the Saffron Gym she believed that her goal had nearly been accomplished. However, when the fighting dojo was constructed next door and citizens began recognizing the establishment as an official gym, Sabrina nearly went mad with rage. No one would be recognized as a Pokemon leader in Saffron except her. It was during this time, while she and her subordinate trainers tore through each fighting type trainer within the dojo, working their way up to the leader, a small six year old boy with short brown hair, bright green eyes, and a wide adorable smile poked the infuriated psychic on the back with his small finger.

"S'cuse me." The small boy poked Sabrina again.

Fire flashed behind Sabrina's eyes as she felt the finger touching her. Which one of these fighting type imbeciles would _dare_ touch her? Sabrina turned, ready to unleash all of her psychic fury on whomever was so foolish enough to interrupt her conquest. When her eyes scanned the area that was once behind her, nothing but the front door of the dojo filled her vision. Confusion began to tingle at the back of the psychic's mind before another poke, this one on her gut, brought her infuriated glare down to the floor. Instantly, after taking in the sight of the young boy, who was still poking her, Sabrina's mind nearly shut down and rebooted itself as all of her rage seemed to vanish and was replaced by a mixture of guilt, embarrassment, and bewilderment.

"Um..." Although shocked and confused, Sabrina still had the sense to brush the child's hand away from her stomach. "What...is it?"

"Hey, lady." The boy gazed up at Sabrina. "Why did you come in here and beat everyone up?"

Children were always blunt and straight to the point, Sabrina thought. "Because..." It took her a moment to remember why she was so angry. And then the anger returned. "Because they had the audacity to try and establish a gym in _my_ city!" Sabrina shouted.

The boy frowned while folding his arms. "It's not _your_ city, lady. It's everyone's city."

Sabrina scoffed at the statement. "You're just a kid. You wouldn't understand."

This brought about a flare of anger in the boy and his eyes spouted a fire of their own. "Try me."

"There can be only one official Pokemon gym within a town or city." Sabrina explained.

"Why?"

"Because a city can only have one gym leader."

"Why?"

"Because those are the league rules."

"Why?"

Sabrina's hands formed fists at her sides and she clenched them tightly while speaking through gritted teeth. "Because the government will only sponsor one gym in any city. If two gyms are established then neither will receive funding until one concedes leadership to the other." Sabrina turned her back on the boy and scanned the dojo in search of its leader.

"So, _that's_ why you're beating up everyone in here?" The boy concluded.

Sabrina didn't expect the boy would grasp what she had been explaining. Again her anger temporarily subsided as she faced him.

"Yes." She said flatly.

"Well why do _you_ gotta be the leader here huh? Why? Why can't, Kiyo be the leader? He's teaching me how to defend myself against bullies like you!" The boy frowned.

Sabrina was taken aback by that statement. "B...bully?" She glanced around at her defeated opponents who were attempting to comfort their beaten Pokemon.

"Yeah!" The boy snapped. "No one in here has done anything to you, but still you and your gang stormed in here and started beating everyone up for no reason other than you want to be in control of everything. Just like a bunch of _bullies._ Just like the ones that pick on me and beat me up everyday! You gonna beat me up to, lady?"

"I..." Sabrina didn't know what to say.

The boy was right. Sabrina did rush into the dojo with the sole purpose of beating everyone into submission. Just so she could claim the title of Saffron gym leader. Would she have subjected the small boy in front of her to the same punishment if he had stood in her way? Did a lust for power grip her heart that tightly? The realization of what she had done sickened her to the point where she was about to leave, with tears slowly building up behind her eyes, dousing the flames of rage.

"I'm sorry..." Sabrina whispered.

"There is no need for apology." A deep male voice flowed from behind the stunned psychic.

She didn't hear him approach, she couldn't even _sense_ him. Sabrina turned and the tall muscular form of a teenage boy with a handsome face, chiseled to perfection, filled her vision. A dark emerald shirt and the pants from a white karate gi covered his body. A black belt, indicating his fighting skill, held up the pants. Around his spiky hair covered head, a white bandanna laced his forehead. He stood with a calm demeanor even as his students groaned in pain from their recent thrashing.

"We here are trained warriors. Warriors of the body." Kiyo glanced around at the many martial arts posters that decorated his gym. "You train with the power of the mind. Even I will admit that someone with no further use of their body can still accomplish great things with their mind." He let out a sigh of acceptance. "You have defeated my trainers, so now all that is left is me and the title of Saffron City gym leader shall be yours."

"But...none of you were ready...we just barged in here and..." Sabrina began until Kiyo raised his hand, silencing her.

"It matters not. The world does not wait for the unprepared. You and I will battle and the victor will be the new city gym leader." Kiyo explained.

"O...ok." Sabrina managed a small smile. "And you," her eyes lowered to the boy, "thank you."

"No problem, lady." The boy's wide smile returned. "The name's, Glenn by the way."

* * *

**End Flashback**

* * *

Fear that the enticing allure of power and control would once again grip her heart burned inside Sabrina's chest. Ever since that day, Glenn had always been there for her. Even when he developed his adolescent crush on her he still managed to be her friend before anything else. Whenever Sabrina found herself sinking into a battle induced rage, Glenn would always be there with his goofy smile. Whenever her research would push her into a sleepless, endless search for more power, Glenn would always be there to break something inside the gym laboratory.

He truly was her dearest friend.

Now with him leaving, Sabrina feared she might not be able to keep her demons at bay. She feared she might become something destructive.

She feared she might hurt people.

However, she knew she couldn't reveal any of this to the twelve year old boy sitting across from her. It wouldn't be fair to him. She knew he would give up on his journey in a heartbeat if he felt that she needed him. And she did need him. But if she told him then he would stay and be forced to suffer longer through whatever it was he was suffering through. Sabrina couldn't do that to him. Not to her closest friend. No. She would just have to make due with receiving a phone call every now and then.

"Glenn. Wait here." Sabrina stood from the table.

Glenn nodded after gulping down his last spoonful of ice cream then leaned back, gazing out at his journal. He knew that most people kept at best, daily logs in their journals. If he started writing things down in it now it would be his second entry in less than a few hours. After a few moments of thought, Glenn shrugged the doubt off.

It was _his_ journal after all.

A few minutes later Sabrina came back from around the corner with a pen and a piece of paper clutched in her right hand. The sight of Glenn writing in his journal pulled a sigh of annoyance from the gym leader and she shook her head and placed her hands on her hips.

"You know, you'd think a psychic as gifted as I am would not hold the record for doing the most useless things." Sabrina frowned.

Glenn gazed up from his journal at Sabrina. "Huh?"

"Nevermind." The psychic smiled while tossing the paper into a nearby trashcan. "Just take this number down."

Glenn scribbled Sabrina's number down on his journal then gazed up at the gym leader. "So now that I have your number, and we've skipped the dinner and movie..."

"Stop it!" Sabrina burst out laughing. It took her a few moments to calm down. "I have to ask you something important."

"What is it?" Glenn wondered.

"How do you expect to make it wherever it is you're going without a Pokemon?" Sabrina asked while sitting back down at her table.

"Well..." Glenn scratched the back of his head. "I haven't quite figured that part out yet."

Sabrina's eyebrows rose at this. "I know that you're way too smart to think you can go anywhere in this world, on your own, on foot, without some kind of Pokemon protection."

Glenn remained silent, choosing instead to answer by lowering his head.

"Psycho!" Sabrina snapped.

"Oh _come on_ it can't be all that bad like people say it is!" Glenn protested.

"It's _worse!_" Sabrina frowned. "Imagine being lost in a forest, surrounded by a swarm of angry Weedle or even worse Beedrill!" Sabrina leaned forward. "Hell just _one_ is bad enough. Have you ever seen what Weedle do to people they catch with string shot?"

Glenn shook his head.

"They drain the blood right out of you!"

"Eww..." Glenn forced the thought out of his mind then smiled as an idea replaced the image. "I know! I just _won't_ get lost!"

Sabrina decided to ignore the unintelligent comment her friend had just made. "Don't tell me you were planning on leaving tonight?"

"Um...yeah." Glenn whispered meekly.

Sabrina's hands slammed onto her table, rattling the ice cream bowls as she shouted. "Do you have a death wish or something?"

"No..." Glenn sank back into his seat.

Sabrina sighed as her anger subsided. "There's nothing that's going to make you reconsider this little field trip of yours is there?"

A small smile crept back onto Glenn's face as his gaze rose, taking in Sabrina's beautiful form once again. "Well..."

"Don't you say it!" Sabrina giggled. "Well at any rate you aren't going _anywhere_ tonight. I don't care how determined you are."

"So are we gonna share your bed and..." Glenn began.

"No!" Sabrina glared at him, then giggled. "Listen to me, you really need to consider getting yourself a Pokemon."

"Hey it's not like I don't think it's a good idea to get one." Glenn admitted. He really didn't think it was a bad idea. "It's just that I _can't_ get one. I don't have a license and there's no way in hell my dad will ever let me get one. You know that."

"Yeah..." Sabrina conceded. "And you can't get your step mom to do it because even if she did your dad could just have it revoked because both parents have to agree for it to be valid."

"Exactly." Glenn sighed.

"Well there has to be _some _way you can get one." Sabrina thought for a moment. "Or at least some way you can get a Pokemon to help keep you safe on your journey." An idea sparked in her mind. "Hey! I can just give you a few of my spare pokeballs."

"Say whaaa?" Glenn blinked.

"Well it won't be _legal_ for you to own a Pokemon but the Pokemon won't know that. You only need one to watch your back while you travel. Just don't go challenging any gym leaders and you'll be fine." Sabrina smiled.

"What about when it gets hurt? Won't they check for my license at Pocket Monster centers?" Glenn wondered.

Sabrina waved the worry away. "Hell no. Do you know how many people come in and out of those places everyday? They used to card trainers who visited centers only to make sure that the Pokemon were in the care of people licensed to train them. However now that Pokemon training is so modernized, _everyone's _doing it and the once official license check rule is now pretty much a meager unofficial rule. Believe me you'll be lucky if you get carded twice in three years."

"Good to know. But I still have no idea how to catch Pocket Monsters."

"Just throw the pokeball at them."

"Isn't there a bit more to it than that?"

"Nope."

"You sure?"

"Hey, who's the gym leader here?"

"Ok...if you say so."

Sabrina nodded and smiled at her recent display of brilliance then stood to her feet stifling half a yawn. "Well it's pretty late. You should get some sleep. You're gonna need it. I'll give you the pokeballs and a few other things in the morning." Another yawn escaped her. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Glenn smiled.

The young runaway picked up his pen and continued writing in his journal. However, he only managed a few sentences before he overheard Sabrina as she walked from her bathroom towards her bedroom.

"Time to change out of these clothes."

In a frenzied rush, Glenn wrote one last sentence before closing his journal and rising from his seat, sneaking off towards Sabrina's room.


	3. First Steps

**Author's Note: I want to thank everyone that has read my story, favorited it, and or put it on their alert list. I would also like to thank my one reviewer for listing his/her thoughts. Hope everyone is enjoying the story. Please feel free to tell me your likes and dislikes in a review or message. Thanks again.**

* * *

**POKEMON**

**Lost Dreams**

* * *

**Chapter Two **

**FIRST STEPS  
**

* * *

_Entry Three: Death Route  
_

_March 4th, 1996_

_Well here I am ladies and gentlemen. Stuck at a damn Pocket Monster daycare. A **daycare**! How did this happen? _

_I'll be glad to pretend you're wondering._

_This whole traveling the world thing is overrated. Why couldn't the government build roads for cars and buses to travel between cities? Seriously it would be so much easier and **safer** for people to get around. But nooooo instead we have to abide by unwritten rules our ancestors came up with._

_That's right I'm so friggin pissed about this I had to find out why things are the way they are so I'm sitting in front of a computer looking it up online **right now**._

_As it turns out, most of the world is more nature oriented. Our cities and facilities only peek out from the trees and mountain ranges._

_Why?_

_Because while there are billions of us humans on this planet, there are close to one-hundred-billion Pocket Monsters that inhabit the land, sea, and air. Instead of just mowing through their natural habitats, our ancestors instead chose to respect the livelihood of the wild mythical beasts and built cities only in areas that were lightly populated by Pocket Monsters. So no forests were torn down, only small sections. No major changes from us have come to nature. And now that everything is modernized there are actual laws put in place keeping corporations and companies from destroying forests and mountains in order to build roads for cars, which is good I guess since Pocket Monsters deserve their space in the world too. They were here before us. But walking **sucks**! And also, you know what? _

_**Screw Pocket Monsters!**_

_I almost got killed today more times than in my entire life! First, I nearly get my eardrums popped from a screaming Oddish. Next, I get chased down the road by some stupid Mankey. Then! Oh it wasn't over yet. Then I nearly get **eaten** by a Bellsprout, which tripped me to the ground while I was running from the Mankey. After crawling away from **that** little misadventure, the Mankey decides that kicking me, or actually, punching my brain out through my nose while I'm down would be a fun idea._

_All of that sound amusing to you? Well it gets better._

_After I managed to escape the Mankey's onslaught I tried hiding in the forest that surrounds route 5. It seemed like a good idea at the time seeing as how **every** Pocket Monster on the planet wanted to block my way down the road. I figured the forest might offer a little less resistance._

_**Wrong!**_

_Fate, feeding off of my **abundant** pool of **good** luck, decided that it would be fun if the area of the forest I retreated into just **happened** to be a Mankey **nest** that just **happened** to be the home of **the same Mankey that had just beat the living daylights out of me**. Oh and let's not forget that fate, in its everlasting wisdom, decided that same Mankey should return to its nest just when I arrived and alert its **entire** community of my presence._

_Needless to say I won't be going anywhere for a few days._

_So basically, on the first day of my journey, only **two hours** after I left the north Saffron City terminus, I managed to nearly get beaten to death and or eaten **three times**. To add insult to injury **all** of my food was stolen by a pack of Rattata and the backpack Sabrina gave me had a huge hole in its side. Somehow I managed to make it to this Pocket Monster daycare center that's high above route 5 on a stone plateau. I barely remember scaling the rocky side of the plateau...mostly because I was scared shitless and running on adrenaline. Somehow I made it up here though and the caretaker of this place patched me up.  
_

_I don't know if I want to continue._

_If everyday is going to be like this, filled with life threatening situations and near death experiences...I don't know if I can go on. Kiyo taught me a lot about martial arts and defending myself and that's fine for when I have to deal with people. But Pocket Monsters aren't people. They're literally **monsters.** And they're out for blood. I have no idea how people manage to bond with and become best friends with these creatures. Every one of them out there that saw me had the look of a carnivorous beast in its eyes. Because they **are** carnivorous beasts. They didn't want to play or act cute like on television shows. They didn't want to study me out of curiosity or help me because of their **kind nature**._

_They wanted to fucking **eat me.**_

_But I guess it's fair. I mean we **do** eat them just like they eat us. Maybe I should just put the pen down for now. I am way too high strung to think clearly and my body hurts worse than it ever has in my whole life. I'm going to sleep._

* * *

**Route 5: March 4th, 1996**

* * *

Glenn Sommers slowly took his first steps outside of Saffron City as the northern terminus doors shut behind him. His eyes were wide with excitement and his hands tightly clutched the straps of his new dark emerald colored backpack that bounced against his lower back as he walked. Sabrina had woken up long before sunrise in order to pack several provisions for Glenn before he left on his journey. The backpack belonged to her grandfather, who had given it to his son, and his son gave it to Sabrina. Although the travel pack had endured many years of use and seen more of the world than its new owner, it was still in better condition than most backpacks half its age.

Inside its several compartments that Glenn would eventually have to commit to memory if he intended to maintain the system Sabrina had established, were items for Pokemon used by trainers and provisions for Glenn himself. Among those provisions, inside the center pouch, were three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a sandwich made from sliced Pidgey meat, three bottles of water, two apples, one orange, a box of band-aids, a flashlight, a map of Kanto, and Glenn's journal. One of the smaller compartments on the right held five pokeballs. Two spray bottles containing a curative medicine widely known among trainers as a potion were inside the leftmost pouch along with two curative liquids with a greenish tint labeled antidote. Sabrina had given Glenn a lot before he left her home, including a long goodbye hug.

However, to Glenn's disappointment, there was no goodbye kiss.

On his way towards the northern terminus, at the insistence of Sabrina, Glenn stopped at a local clothing store and purchased a new outfit. The premise for his new style was based heavily off of the trainer Sabrina had defeated the day prior to Glenn's departure.

Even though the guy was a prick he still knew how to dress well.

Black baggy jeans draped over Glenn's black sneakers. A short sleeve navy-blue jacket with a hood attachment on the back covered most of the black t-shirt covering Glenn's torso. Black finger-gloves and a navy-blue cap finished off the outfit with the bill of the cap positioned over Glenn's forehead to keep the sun out of his eyes. Glenn also grabbed a small black wallet and placed the rest of the money he stole from his father's wallet inside of it.

Cool fresh air filled his lungs as his eyes took in the sight of the road before him. Route five was one of the wider pathways constructed through the dense forests that surrounded Kanto. For roughly one mile a single dirt road stretched out in front of the young traveler. At the end of that mile a massive stone plateau rose up several meters above the ground, creating a fork in the road. Both paths led to the Cerulean City southern terminus. Gray steel railings were constructed along the borders of the dirt roads to discourage travelers from venturing into the forests. As Glenn stared at the railings he couldn't help but wonder how frustrating it must have been for whoever had to build them. He shrugged the thought away and took another slow step forward.

The wind carried pollen, flower pedals, twigs, and many other pieces of the massive forest along its currents as Glenn slowly turned, taking in one last look of his former home, Saffron City, then turned and started towards Cerulean City. Twenty brisk steps into his journey, Glenn could already hear the ambiance of the wild emanating from the forest. Countless ferocious growls and ear-piercingly loud screeches echoed from both sides of the road. The sound of flapping wings and ruffling feathers bounced off the trees into Glenn's ears.

Ruthless roars bellowed from the guts of unknown bloodthirsty monsters. Seconds later the unsettling crunch of teeth ripping through tender flesh into exposed bone sent a chill down Glenn's spine. This did not stop him from continuing forward, however, as he was determined to make it to Viridian City and start a new life free of outside control from his parents and all the other adults that felt children like himself were too incompetent to make any of their own decisions.

The road wasn't necessarily empty. There were always at least twenty different people within Glenn's range of sight at any given time. Route five stretched just under a third of a mile in width so there was plenty enough room for Glenn to feel the loneliness of travel even with the hundreds of different people scattered throughout the road that day. The other travelers ranged from drifters to trainers, on foot and bicycles. Every now and then Glenn would spot a few business travelers either too cheap or too poor to afford any technological means of transportation. Glenn could understand that. There was no way he could afford an air-car license, let alone an _air-car_. Helicopters were even more expensive and people were just _now_ even considering the idea of _maybe_ building an airport, which would probably also be out of Glenn's price range.

People have two legs for a reason, Glenn figured.

So he used them and could already feel the sweat beginning to seep out from his pores. Maybe the baggy black attire wasn't the best of ideas for an outfit during the summer. Glenn shook his head at the thought and continued on down the dirt road. About an hour into his travels, Glenn was stopped dead in his tracks by a hostile stranger.

"Hey you!" An unfamiliar male voice shouted at Glenn from the left side of the road.

Glenn stopped walking and turned his head towards the origin of the voice with a hint of curiosity covering his face. "Yeah?" He wasn't certain the voice was directed specifically at him until after he saw the young boy in bright red shorts and a white t-shirt glaring a hole through him. "What do you want?"

Dust spouted up into Glenn's face as the boy came to a sliding halt in front of him. "You're a trainer, right?" The boy's question was more of an accusation and his lips formed a confident smirk.

Glenn didn't notice the belt containing three pokeballs strapped around the boy's waist until after he ran over. "Um..." Technically he was still just a traveler but capturing a Pocket Monster was something on his to do list.

"Ha!" The boy interrupted, grabbing one of the pokeballs from his belt. "Let's battle!"

The boy stood about a foot shorter than Glenn and the twelve year old traveler could tell the youngster was no older than eight. "Wait a minute."

"Go, Rattata!" The boy ignored Glenn's protest and tossed his pokeball forward, bringing a small rodent with purple fur and two large razor sharp front teeth out into the world. Long grayish whiskers stretched out on either side of its red-eyed face and a long tail curled above its back. Its hairless underbelly was a soft cream color.

"Wait a minute." Glenn said again.

"Come on! Call out your Pokemon!" The youngster demanded. "And don't you dare think this is going to be an easy battle!" He said, smirking down at his Rattata. "My, Rattata here is tougher than he looks! Just like me!"

"_Wait,_" Glenn shouted as a frown covered his face, "_a," _his hands clenched into fists, "_minute!_"

"What?" The youngster shouted.

Glenn let out a breath of frustration and relief overtook him as he finally managed to get through to the boy. "I am not a trainer. I don't have any Pocket Monsters."

"What?" The youngster screamed in disbelief while his Rattata growled, ready to pounce on anything the boy ordered. "What do you mean you don't have any Pocket Monsters?" The youngster considered his words for a moment before confusion tingled around his brain. "What the heck _is_ a Pocket Monster?"

Glenn held his hand to his forehead while sighing. "Anyway. Like I said. I am not a trainer. So if you'll excuse me..."

"Well why didn't you say so before?" The youngster growled. "You waited for me to get all hyped up and bring my Pokemon out before telling me you're not a trainer! And if you're not a trainer then why are you dressed like one?"

Glenn glanced down at his clothes before answering. "You're not dressed anything like me so why would you assume this is the standard attire for trainers?"

"Because _I'm_ not a trainer either!" The youngster said, sticking his tongue out at Glenn before recalling his Rattata. "My ma said I can't be one until I'm ten! But my dad let me catch a few Pokemon and train outside the terminus." He ran off down the road towards another young traveler unfortunate enough to grab his attention after screaming three more words in Glenn's direction. "You big _dumby_!"

"Shessh." Glenn shook his head. "Was I like that when I was his age?" Glenn considered it for a moment then shook his head again. "Nah."

About thirty minutes later, Glenn hit the fork in the road and decided to take the eastern path alongside the plateau. The young traveler couldn't help gazing up at the tall wall of rock that stretched for miles down the route all the way up to the Cerulean terminus. Ever now and then Glenn would catch a glimpse of some small creature wriggling towards the edge of the plateau and decided to stay a good fifteen feet away from the wall of rock in case whatever was up there spotted him. It was somewhat odd, Glenn thought, how none of the Pocket Monsters that inhabited the forest would come out onto the road.

Coincidentally, while in the middle of that train of thought, Glenn tripped over a small creature that at first appeared to be nothing more than a patch of weeds growing out of the ground. As Glenn fell, his first instinctual reaction was to place his hands out in front of himself to cushion the fall. However, a loud unbearable screech escaped the weeds, causing Glenn, in another instinctual act, to cover his ears with his hands. This action resulted in his face hitting the dirt road. Glenn rolled around on the ground screaming out pleas for the creature to be silent. However, as the small beast emerged from the sandy depths of the earth its horrible screeching only grew louder, causing Glenn to scream out in pain as blood began seeping out from his ears.

The creature, a blue plant bulb with round feet and beady red eyes, stood at just below two feet in height with the help of the five green leaves sprouting from its head.

Realizing there was no immediate threat, the plant creature ceased its screeching and walked away with an adorable smile covering its face.

Glenn groaned with his blood-stained, finger-gloved hands still pressed against his ears. A headache was beyond what was pounding against his brain and the constant ringing that drowned out his sense of hearing did little to help the situation. It took several minutes for the ringing to finally begin subsiding. Glenn was on his side, still gripping his head when the ambiance of the world slowly began returning to him. Unfortunately, another sound also flowed into his shattered sense of hearing.

It was a steady flow of breathing on par with Glenn's although more animalistic in nature. The moist echo of snot combined with air was vacuumed in and huffed out of a small pair of pink nostrils. As Glenn's eyes slowly opened, they took in the sight of something that sent a wave of shock throughout his chest.

A short creature no taller than two feet stood in front of Glenn's face. White messy fur covered its small round body. Brown skin laced the insides of its triangular shaped ears and covered the tips of its arms, two-toed feet, and tail. Its brown eyes glared a hole through the young human.

Fear lit up inside Glenn's eyes as his short painful breaths ceased and his hands slowly lowered to the ground. The creature in front of him continued to glare and the terrified traveler dared not move another inch, fearing he would set the beast off. The two remained like this, Glenn wide-eyed and still, the Pokemon glaring, with its infuriated glare sharpening and its breaths quickening.

Glenn soon realized that an attack from the Pocket Monster was inevitable and instead of waiting to be ripped apart, chose instead to scramble to his feet and run as fast as he could towards Cerulean City, which unfortunately was still several miles away. He heard the beast's bloodthirsty roar emanate from beneath its fur and the sound of its small feet stomping against the ground as it pursued him. Glenn didn't dare look back, choosing instead to keep his eyes pinned on his destination, which was still too far away for his eyes to make out. After thirty seconds, Glenn's mad dash was cut short as something that felt like a rope lassoed itself around his leg, bringing his face back onto the ground with a dusty thud.

Air laced with a cloud of dust was sucked into Glenn's lungs, causing a fit of violent painful coughs. Pain throbbed from his leg as the rope, which upon closer inspection revealed itself to be a dark green vine, intensified its grip. Glenn gazed up from the ground and a horrifying sight filled his vision.

A small plant creature with a skinny stem-like body and a pair of leaves that served as arms groaned with feral hunger as it gripped its frightened prey. Thin roots that served as feet were planted firmly into the ground, giving it maximum leverage and allowing it to pull the human closer to its yellow bell-shaped head with pink lips.

Glenn couldn't contain his fear any longer and yelled out in terror while struggling with the beast. His attention temporarily left the primate-like creature and his senses were unaware of the pack of feral Rattata scampering towards him from the other side of the road. Glenn wondered why his screams went unanswered. In his panic he could not realize that at that particular moment, no one else was in the vicinity of his position.

The Rattata swarmed the struggling human as he turned on his side, their purple noses twitching at the scent of fresh food emanating from his pack. One of the small rodents pounced onto the green travel pack, tearing a hole into the bag at its owner's screams of protest. The other members of the pack snatched every ounce of nourishment from the bag while the plant creature groaned its disdain at the rodents interfering with its meal.

Nearly insane with fear and rage, Glenn removed the pack while vigorously shaking the clawing rodents off of it. His hands shot into the bag and pulled out one of the five pokeballs inside. With no other means of defense, the young traveler flung the ball towards the plant creature, hitting it between its small black beady eyes. The pokeball popped open and in a display of bright light, sucked the monster inside, freeing Glenn from its grip.

Before Glenn could rise to his feet, the primate-like creature roared its high pitched roar and jumped onto his chest. The beast pummeled Glenn with several punches. Despite the creature's small size, each punch that connected with Glenn's chest and face felt like cinder-blocks being dropped onto his body from a high altitude. Blood gushed from the preteen's mouth just after a loud crack echoed from inside his chest. Glenn's consciousness began to fade as the beast began to focus on his face. Seconds before darkness overtook his vision the pokeball that was shaking violently on the ground exploded open in another bright display of light. The top half of the ball was blasted off and landed twenty feet down the road while the bottom half hit the ground making a small dent in the dirt.

The once trapped plant creature croaked in fury, whipping its vines out from beneath its leafy arms towards the human that tried to capture it. Unfortunately for the creature the vines instead smacked into the back of the primate monster, turning its attention to the owner of the vines.

Glenn, now free from his Pokemon induced torment, rose to his feet. The battered preteen stumbled in a daze, almost falling back to the ground before he took off down the road. An unbearable pain burned inside his chest with each breath he took and his left eye was bruised to the point where he could no longer open it. Blood drained from his broken nose and gushed out of his mouth. Ignoring all of this, with an adrenaline induced dash for survival, Glenn darted to the right and jumped the railings, choosing to hide himself amongst the trees in the forest.

The humid heat the trees generated intensified inside the dense forest. Glenn found himself struggling to breath as the pain from his broken body returned. No longer able to advance, the young traveler fell to one knee and placed his arm against a large tree. A few moments later a low rustling of leaves brought Glenn's terrified gaze to the treetops of the forest. Nestled above him, a colony of primate creatures resembling the one that attacked him buzzed with activity. Glenn shook his head in disbelief then slowly rose to his feet. Two seconds later the primate monster that had beaten Glenn to within an inch of his life emerged from the bushy borders of the forest with the plant creature's bright yellow head clutched firmly in its hand.

It was in this moment that all reason left Glenn's mind. His humane composure was shattered and everything that made human beings intelligent, thoughtful, and sentient vanished. Glenn was no longer human at that moment. He was now an animal. He was now a simple creature like the ones surrounding him and he just happened to be on the bottom of the food chain inside the forest. In this moment he did what any prey that has spotted a predator would do.

His breathing stopped, his eyes widened, and then he ran.

Glenn ran faster than he had ever run before in his entire twelve years of existence. As he shot past the primate creature its loud high pitched screams alerted its kin to the presence of the human intruder. However, Glenn didn't hear the beast. His body moved with animalistic efficiency towards the edge of the forest and launched itself over the railing. Within three seconds of spotting the primate creature, Glenn had cleared a distance of twelve feet from the tree to the railing and landed heavily onto route five.

His legs did not stop there.

As a mob of over forty of the white and brown creatures trampled over the railing onto the road in pursuit of the preteen, Glenn's legs turned his body to the left and he ran towards the plateau. His mind was no longer processing any intelligent thoughts. To any other human, it would be impossible to scale the stone walls of the plateau without the proper equipment. However, Glenn didn't see it that way. Survival instincts shot Glenn's hands forward into the correct positions on the stone wall. His fingers clutched the indents and pulled his body up off of the ground.

The primate creatures were too small to even reach the first indent and even if they could, their two fingered hands would not allow them to scale the wall.

After fifteen minutes of frenzied climbing, Glenn's mind returned to him as he hunched over onto his hands and knees, vomiting blood and the breakfast he ate before leaving Sabrina's apartment onto the grassy grounds of the plateau. Sweat dripped from every uncovered portion of his body onto the ground as deep pain filled breaths flowed in and out of his burning lungs. A distorted blur replaced Glenn's vision as he glanced up at his new surroundings. He barely caught sight of the small house releasing small clouds of smoke into the air from its chimney and the old man walking towards him before passing out.

The old man, bald with a long white beard covering his chin gazed down at the unconscious boy in front of him. "Well now...what do we have here?"

* * *

**That Night**

* * *

Glenn's eyes shot open and a loud scream escaped him as he sat up from beneath the covers of a large bed. His head turned from left to right, taking in his surroundings. The bed he lay in stretched out along the back end of the house. A small desk held a desktop computer next to the foot of the bed. Behind him, Glenn saw an area gated off inside the house that resembled a play area for small children. Large green plants, growing inside pale blue square pots lined the wall in front of the playpen and another set of greenery decorated the wall near the house entrance, positioned diagonally across from the active fireplace, which was built into the east wall. In the center of the house, set atop a lavender colored carpet with nay-blue edges, a large square wooden table, with four square shaped stools set around it, collected dust seven feet from the bed.

Relaxation slowly began to overtake Glenn's tensed muscles and the briefly forgotten pain from his injuries returned. Glenn held his chest and noticed that his t-shirt was gone. In fact all of his clothes had been removed and replaced with white bandages except for his pants. This brought a bit of caution to his relief as he slowly began to lie back down. His head turned to the window in the wall beside the bed and his vision was filled with a lush green fenced in area.

Two seconds later a blue plant bulb creature, similar to the one from earlier, jumped into the air in front of the window.

Glenn's loud screams echoed outside of the house into the ears of the old man. This caused the senior citizen to open the door to his house, wondering what had happened. Glenn turned to the door then fell out of the bed screaming in terror.

"Hey." The old man shut the door. "Hey! Will you get a grip? What's the matter with you?"

"Mo...mo..." Glenn's terror stunted his intelligence. "Monsters!"

"What monsters?"

"Outside!" Glenn pointed towards the window.

The old man chuckled for about a minute before responding. "Those aren't monsters. I swear you kids these days got no sense of adventure. Not like my generation had."

"What?" Glenn blinked in confusion. "Adventure?" Anger began to swell up inside his bandaged chest. "I just nearly _died _out there and you wanna talk about _adventure_?"

"Everyone dies, sonny." The old man said stepping over to Glenn. "It's _how_ you choose to go out that's important." He knelt down, attempting to help Glenn back onto the bed.

Glenn pushed himself away and stood up, wincing at the pain from his injuries, particularly his bruised leg squeezed by the plant creature's vine, and nearly fell back to the floor. "Listen old..."

"Enough!" The old man snapped. "You're lucky to be alive right now. Arguing with me should be the least of your worries."

Glenn thought about it for a moment then frowned, returning to the bed. "Whatever." He knew the old man was right but didn't care. He had just been attacked and nearly killed for no other reason than the bodily nourishment of some wild animal. He wanted, _needded_ to be angry with someone. _Anyone_.

The old man examined Glenn's injuries for a moment before smiling. "You're gonna be just fine. You should be healed up enough to travel in a week or so."

Shock erupted inside Glenn's chest at the old man's statement. "A _week_?"

"Like I said." The old man chuckled. "You're lucky to be alive. I've never heard of, let alone _seen_ anyone survive a Thrashing attack from an enraged Mankey. This is truly an interesting turn of events."

"Glad I could be of service." Glenn said sarcastically.

"Young man," the old man stroked his beard, "I've been wondering this for a while now. Ever since I saw those pokeballs inside your pack."

"What?" Glenn wondered.

"Where are your Pokemon? Why didn't you call them to protect you?"

"I don't have any."

"None? But all trainers your age have at least twenty by now."

"How do you know how old I am?"

"It's not _that_ difficult to tell how old a child is. Especially when you've been alive for damn near seventy years." The old man chuckled.

"Well aren't you special." Glenn's sarcasm never left his voice.

The old man smiled and patted Glenn on the head. "Don't worry, my boy you'll be all right. But I really think you should catch yourself a Pokemon or two just to be on the safe side. If you're unsure on how, there are a few websites that give tips to new trainers starting out on their journeys." The old man held up the view of his computer with his right hand. "Feel free to use my computer. It isn't password protected so you should have no problem getting online." He turned and began walking towards the front door. "Get some rest after you're done." He stopped in the middle of the doorway, holding the door open. "And no porn sites."

The door shut and Glenn was alone in the house again. Anger still swirled throughout his aching chest but that didn't stop him from rising from the bed and sitting down in front of the computer. Instead of searching for trainer tips on capturing Pocket Monsters as the old man had suggested, Glenn searched for information on route 5 and why no paved highways were ever built outside of cities. Why couldn't there be roads that connected the cities? If there were then Glenn could have traveled in a bus or something instead of walking. Next, he searched for the names of the creatures that had attacked him. After that he thought of writing his experiences with the beasts down in his journal.

_My journal!_

After everything that had happened, thoughts of the little brown book had completely left Glenn's mind. His head swiveled around as he turned in his chair, scanning the room for his belongings.

Did he even still _have_ belongings? Did he drop everything on the road or in the forest? Did the old man rob him? Glenn shook the thoughts away and stood from the chair, wincing at the pain from his bruised leg that the Bellsprout nearly squeezed off.

The young traveler limped to the center of the room, placing his hands on the table for support and glanced back at his resting area. Beneath the bed Glenn's eyes sparkled with the sight of his emerald travel pack. Painfully, he walked over to the bed and grabbed the pack. Memories of the hole in the side flashed into his mind causing him to reach under the pack, expecting something to fall out. Instead confusion spread across his face as he realized the hole was no longer there. Upon closer inspection, Glenn found the pack to be completely repaired. The bag was stitched together so perfectly, with an emerald colored string no less, that Glenn could barely tell there was ever a hole in the bag at all.

Apparently Glenn wasn't the only one the old man had patched up that day.

Setting his guilt for being so rude to the man aside, Glenn unzipped the main compartment of the pack and reached inside, sighing in relief as he felt the wooden cover of his journal. The preteen pulled the journal out, set his pack down, and limped back over to the computer, where he continued his study of the Pocket Monsters that attacked him and the information on why there were no paved roads between cities. He had already learned the primate creature was a Mankey and the second plant to attack him was called Bellsprout. Now his eyes scanned for the final creature he knew nothing of. Oddish was its name. Some once referred to the creature as a Mandrake, partly due to the legend of the plant driving many warriors of the past insane with its loud cries, sending people in to a berserk frenzy of violence.

Glenn jotted down the events of his frustrating day into his journal as he gathered information on the creatures. After about half an hour of reading, Glenn considered purchasing a new journal and using it to write down categorized information about the beasts he would encounter on his journey then shook the thought away.

Did he even want to continue his journey?

Glenn glanced down at his wounds and let out a deep sigh of regret. Had the world proven to be too much for him only after one day of travel? Not even a day. Glenn thought of returning home and suffering a verbal thrashing from his father. His eyes sharpened as he pictured his old man lecturing him on how everything adults did was right and everything children did was misguided or just plain wrong. He pictured his mother nodding in silent agreement even though she was taken care of like a child more so than Glenn was. The thoughts sent a fresh wave of anger through his body. Glenn became angry with his father and with his mother. He became angry with the Pocket Monsters that attacked him. He even became angry with the old man who had rescued him.

Glenn needed to let out his frustrations.

Thoughts of screaming filled his mind but quickly subsided as he remembered how painful it was when he screamed at the Oddish outside. Next, Glenn thought of hitting something, _anything_, however, the bandages covering his body pushed the idea away. In the end the best he could manage was flinging a cup, which contained a few pens and pencils, sitting next to the computer across the room. Sharp pains stabbed at his chest from the throw and Glenn growled in frustration. Another sigh left him as he continued to write in his journal for another five minutes. However, recounting the events he could remember from earlier that day only made his fury resurface. Glenn decided to close his journal and continue researching Pocket Monsters on the old man's computer.

Intrigue filled Glenn's mind as he stumbled across a web-page containing information on a device used by trainers to collect information on Pocket Monsters. The red electronic encyclopedia known as a Pokedex apparently stored the data of wild Pocket Monsters collected by a select few trainers and then uploaded it to Professor Oak's personal computer in Pallet Town. As Glenn researched more on the item he discovered that there were in fact two versions of the Pokedex. One was in common use among most trainers while a small number of the machines were given out to specific trainers tasked with gathering information on all of the Pocket Monsters they encounter. After being uploaded to Oak's computer, the information was redistributed to the general public. Trainers with one of the mass produced Pokedex devices could connect them to an internet capable computer and download the information into the machine's systems.

_I gotta get me one of those._ Glenn decided.

Further research into the Pokedex yielded more information. Glenn discovered that all trainers received a Pokedex with their license. The red machine was an essential part of a trainer's livelihood. Once trainers received their license they were instructed to insert the card into their Pokedex. The machine would scan the license and download the trainer's information into its data-banks. After that the license should be removed and placed in a safe place such as a wallet. The Pokedex, now uploaded with the trainer's information would monitor the trainer's progress. It would scan every Pocket Monster a trainer caught and register its data and monitor its strengths, abilities, and evolutions. When battling other trainers the Pokedex would monitor the trainer's Pocket Monsters and if victorious, calculate a suitable amount of prize money to be rewarded. The Pokedex would gather this information based on the parameters of the battle, including but not limited to how long it took for the Pocket Monsters to defeat their opponents, what abilities were used, and the severity of the injuries the trainer's Pocket Monsters sustained. Based on this data, when trainers entered Pocket Monster Centers they could collect their prize money, having it sent to their personal accounts by connecting their Pokedex to the center's main computer.

Glenn grimaced at the information, realizing he could not acquire or use one of the devices. _So much for **that** idea._

Tired, frustrated, and aching all over, Glenn decided it was time to get some more rest. He shut down the computer and limped back over to the bed. The soft mattress and warm blankets helped ease Glenn's bad mood.

That is, until forty-three pounds of pressure from the sudden appearance of a strange object weighed down on legs.

Glenn lifted his head from his pillows and gazed out at whatever was on him. Confusion swirled around his mind as he could not comprehend how his legs could suddenly feel so heavy when he felt nothing land on him. Whatever was there had just _appeared_ there.

Slowly, as his vision refocused, Glenn took in the sight of a small three foot tall creature with two short triangular shaped ears on the top of its head. The two eyes on the middle of its face remained shut. Its nose and mouth bore a slightly lighter color than the rest of its golden body. Strangely, the creature looked as if it were wearing armor, with two pauldron-shaped pieces on its shoulders and a fauld-like piece around its chest. It had three stubby fingers on each hand, and three toes on each foot, with two toes in the front on either side and one near the back ankle. A thick tail with a brown band encircling it just below the tip stretched behind it.

Glenn's eyes widened and he began to tremble as the creature stared at him through its closed eyes. He knew exactly what it was, Sabrina's Pocket Monster, Abe used to be one before his evolution. Knowing this did little to dampen the fear building up inside Glenn's chest. Three seconds later, after the Abra snorted harmlessly and titled its head to the side, Glenn shut his eyes and screamed louder than any other time he had screamed that day.


	4. Present Future

**POKEMON**

**Lost Dreams  
**

* * *

**Chapter Three  
**

**PRESENT FUTURE**

* * *

**Sinnoh Region, Unnamed Forest: May 7th, 2090**

* * *

Grayish white colored pages adorned with black ink vanished beneath the burgundy cover of a small book entitled, Glenn's Journal. Fat blobs of perspiration oozed from beneath thick strands of black hair, carrying brownish chunks of dirt and grime. Two sky-blue eyes were forced shut as the sweat covered their eyelids and sailed down the center of the nose between them. Quick exhaustion induced breaths flowed in and out between the lips of an open mouth.

It had been two days since the Twinleaf Town resident decided to continue reading the life story of the man known as, Glenn Sommers. Intrigue at how humble the journal author's beginnings were is what held the man's interest at first. Confusion followed the intrigue. Confusion at how anyone could resent living with their parents. Were things so peaceful and prosperous one hundred years ago that people had the luxury of being upset over obeying their elders?

If he could, the man would give anything to have his own parents returned to him. He would give anything to prevent them from being taken away by the same type of people that pursued him now. Conquerors and warmongers. They had tracked him back to his hometown of Twinleaf and began a thorough search of the area, killing and recruiting all they encountered. They had learned his name through inquiry of the other town residents. They had learn his name from the only person the man interacted with. The only person he could refer to as a friend. She screamed out his name, Kevin, begging them to stop their monstrous Pokemon from ripping into her with their teeth and claws.

But they did not stop.

When she refused to reveal the location of his house, they murdered her and Kevin witnessed the entire thing. The clan of conquerors had held his friend, Jessica, captive in the middle of town. They beat her and brutalized her as they did everyone else. What made them continue with her when she refused to join their ranks was the ability of their psychic Pokemon, Alakazam.

Kevin could still see the sinister glare of the monster as it probed Jessica's mind for the information the clan desired. He could still see the twisted joy that flashed behind the creature's pupils as it found what it was looking for. Images of the blood thirsty Arcanine ripping Jessica's right arm off and ultimately ending her life after chomping down on her blue hair covered head still haunted Kevin's nightmares. Nightmares that pounded inside his head every time fatigue would force him into unconsciousness. Images that would flash in front of his eyes every time he shut them. The images made Kevin sick. The images made Kevin furious.

With himself.

The one memory that stood out among the slaughter of his neighbors and the gruesome death of his only friend was the memory of what he himself did during that day. He hid. Kevin hid the entire time the clan, known as, _The Annihilation Segment_ tore through his town. When they raided the small shack, which belonged to his next door neighbor, he fled towards the southern pond. When they tore through the southern houses and makeshift homes of the town, Kevin remained one step ahead of them, hiding behind crumbling walls and cowering under broken floorboards. No one gave up his position because most of the town residents knew nothing of him. Those that had rarely seen him in passing paid no heed to him. They were all murdered because of this fact, those that did not give up any information concerning Kevin. The clan had offered a deal to those that did not wish to join them. Give up Kevin and you may live to see another day. When Alakazam revealed that no one, save Jessica, knew of his whereabouts, the townsfolk were slaughtered.

Kevin could have saved them. He could have saved them all. He could have saved Jessica. Instead he hid and after Alakazam retrieved the information the clan was after, he fled to the east through the thick forest that separated Twinleaf town from route 219 as the clan destroyed his home.

It was a path Kevin had braved several times in his efforts to survive the harsh world he was born into. Few Pokemon remained inside the forests surrounding Twinleaf Town as the already low population dwindled from close to one thousand to below one hundred. The hungry beasts migrated to the north in search of prey. In the past this made it easy for Kevin to traverse the dark forests in search of any form of sustenance. Instead of food, the young man stumbled onto a route that many people used in their travels to different countries.

Instead of despair, Kevin was filled with hope. That hope came in the form of small water droplets. Kevin rushed home and constructed a small somewhat sturdy boat out of the abundant collection of broken wood scattered throughout the town. Weak from hunger and thirst, it took Kevin several days to drag and carry the boat through the forest. However, when he returned to the route the water droplets, which were falling from the sky, still remained. Kevin pushed the boat into the water and sailed out to the many floating islands of rock littered throughout the ocean. It was here that Kevin collected fresh water with the water bottles stored within his house. It was with this water that Kevin was able to grow several small berries hidden from the world inside the forest. The constant rainfall over the oceanic region of Sinnoh had saved Kevin's life.

Now that same ocean was used in his escape from his former home into the wilds of a forest he had never seen, which could possibly be filled with beasts he knew nothing of.

The journal, Glenn's journal served as a much needed distraction from Kevin's predicament. He had abandoned his friend, abandoned his entire village, and saved his own life. But why shouldn't he have? If he had turned himself in the clan would most likely have killed him for his previous theft of information. Also The Annihilation Segment had never been known to abide by their word. Death was most likely the town's fate regardless of what Kevin did. But even if turning himself in would have saved them all, so what? Why were their lives more important than his? Kevin was more valuable a person anyway. He alone was brave enough to traverse the forest. He alone created the boat that sailed him to the fresh source of water. He alone grew the berries in the forest. Yes. Kevin had more ingenuity and better survival instincts than anyone within the town. So of course he was the only one to survive the clan's rampage. Survival of the fittest. With these thoughts, Kevin began feeling a little bit better about his current situation.

And then Jessica's tormented screams resurfaced inside of his mind.

"No!" Kevin's eyes shot open and immediately began scanning the tall trees and darkness for any forms of movement.

The former Twinleaf resident shook his head in frustration. Kevin had promised himself that he would not nod off anymore but he couldn't help it. A full day had passed since the last time Kevin had slept and the humid heat of the forest continued to beat down on him even during the night. His fatigue had reached its peek combined with his unbearable hunger and thirst. Death seemed inevitable. However, it was during this time that Kevin decided to read what he believed to be the last few pages of Glenn's journal he would ever read. After reading the third entry and learning how a boy, eight years younger than himself could manage to survive the wilds of Kanto with no food, no water, and several different Pokemon attacking him, Kevin's determination resurfaced and his legs carried him forward.

Now he rested on one knee with the journal clutched tightly against his chest in his right hand and his left hand propped firmly against a large tree. Kevin had sailed his now destroyed boat to the northern edge of the water route and hid himself inside the forest. His intended destination was the ruins of Jubilife City, however, he dared not travel through Sandgem town, knowing that he had no chance of evading The Annihilation Segment there. Further travel close to route 202 revealed that The Annihilation Segment had already begun patrolling the roads that led to their main headquarters, which Kevin discovered was Jubilife City. This knowledge sent him into a new world of fear and despair. Kevin knew that The Annihilation Segment was a small segment of an even larger army. The clan was a branch of the army, which originated many miles away on the distant land of Kanto. The name of the army escaped Kevin at the moment, however, the army's name was the least of his problems.

Now Kevin would have to try for Oreburgh City. A place surrounded by large mountains that stood at the edge of the thick forest Kevin now hid in. Kevin considered passing out right then and there when the realization of what he had to do hit him. Three options laid before him if he intended to continue his evasion of The Annihilation Segment. One: he would have to find a way through the Oreburgh Gate, a dark cavern filled with several dangers besides the monstrous Pokemon that inhabited it. Two: he could attempt traveling the uninviting trails laced throughout the mountain ranges that surrounded Oreburgh city. Three: he could continue east through the forest that eventually ran into the same mountain range that surround Oreburgh.

Kevin chose option one.

The exhausted man decided to remain on his knee for a few more moments before attempting to carry on. In this short span of time something slid across his arm that rested against the tree. Kevin froze at the movement and his breathing ceased. His head slowly rose bringing his gaze from the ground to the top of the tree. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until two round black eyes shot open near the top of the tree.

Kevin screamed in horror as he fell onto his back. The journal slipped from his hand and bounced to the side. Kevin gazed up in terror at the creature towering over him.

It's body took a long log-shaped form with yellow spots covering it. Short legs with toe-less feet sprouted from beneath it. Green club-shaped hands were attached to two long lanky arms. A forked branch grew from the top of its head and the monster's large mouth grinned sadistically down at its frightened prey.

Kevin scrambled to his feet and stumbled back, nearly dodging the creature's right hand as it smashed into the ground. Kevin was baffled at how something that appeared to be so fragile could cause so much damage. His answer came as the beast charged him with surprisingly great speed and rammed into him chest first. Kevin flew back ten feet then skidded along the ground until his head crashed into the trunk of an actual tree. Blood trickled down from his bruised lip and his face ached from the contact with the creature's body that felt as hard as stone. In fact the similarities between stone and the monster's body were uncanny.

Kevin rolled to the right and dodged another vicious attack from the creature's hand, which smashed through the tree bringing the large plant to the ground with a thunderous thud. Kevin gave the creature no time to recover, once again scrambling to his feet. The frightened human snatched the book from the ground and made a mad dash towards the northern edge of the forest towards Oreburgh Gate.

Kevin dared a look back and caught a glimpse of the monster burrowing itself beneath the ground. Why would it go underground? Maybe Kevin had escaped its wrath and the beast resigned itself to waiting for another unfortunate soul? But if that was the case then why hadn't it been burrowed to begin with? Why pretend to be a harmless tree when it could just burrow underground?

The answer to Kevin's questions came with an unimaginably painful thrust to his gut.

The creature, able to move at twice the speed of its current prey while underground, shot up from the dirt and rammed the forked branch atop its head into the fleeing human's gut.

Kevin hunched over. His mouth shot open as all the air within his lungs shot out in a wheezed gag. Blood and vomit gushed out from between his lips next. His legs stopped and his body rose high into the air atop the rock monster. When the beast fully emerged from the ground, Kevin was shot high into the air and landed hard on his back at the edge of the forest. The only thing he could manage were short gasps for air. His eyes took in the sight of the blue sky filled with white clouds until they were replaced by the rock monster that resembled a tree. No screams escaped Kevin as his body was in too much pain to produce them. Instead he only continued to gaze up at the beast as its green hand rose high into the air and then shot down towards his head.

But Kevin did not die.

A mere second before the stony hand splattered Kevin's head across the forest grounds, a small black and blue creature soared through the air above his face. Kevin could make out what appeared to be a dark purplish glow radiating around its white fangs before the pearly bones sunk deep into the rocky plant, sending it stumbling onto its back. Kevin managed to glance down at his right hand and soon realized he had not let go of the journal even after being hit so hard in the gut by the beast. He held the book as if it was his only link to sanity.

Slowly Kevin rose to his feet and turned, taking in a view of his savior.

It took the form of a small cub. Its fur was mostly blue, except for the small thick patches of black under its neck and torso. It had a long black tail with a gold four-pointed star on the end. Gold rings, which sparked with electrical energy, surrounded each of its forelegs. Gold star-like symbols covered the insides of its two oval shaped ears. Its white eyes with golden pupils glared a hole through the stone creature and its bright red nose dripped with rage induced snot. Its small tufts of hair, evidence of a growing mane, peeked out from beneath its round chin.

The two Pokemon circled each other, growling and snarling. The small blue creature pounced, taking another bite out of the rocky plant's stomach. In retaliation, the stone plant smacked the blue cub with its hand, causing the small creature to yelp in pain. The small creature smacked into the trunk of a large tree then slid to the ground screaming in pain.

Kevin considered watching, even helping the small blue monster that had saved his life until he heard a roar that would forever be embedded in his memory. That roar, Kevin presumed as he watched the reaction of the blue creature, came from the small beast's mother. The fear Kevin saw on the face of the rock plant was all the motivation he needed.

Kevin turned and ran out of the forest with all the speed his waning strength and adrenaline would allow. His body dropped as his feet stumbled onto a large hill that overlooked route 203 and he tumbled down to the grassy grounds near Oreburgh gate. His face smacked firmly into a dust covered patch of ground, bringing his body to a painful halt. He quickly rose to his feet and turned his head, taking in a sight that sent fear and awe racing through his brain.

A thick massive collage of yellow lightning bolts sparked within a twenty square-foot radius above the forest as the blue creature's mother roared with ferocious rage. Seconds later a loud bang, similar to the sound of dynamite blasting apart a pile of boulders, rang out for miles in every direction followed by a brief agonized screech from the stone plant.

Kevin turned and made his way towards the Orebugh Gate entrance with a slow jog.

Unbeknownst to the former Twinleaf resident, the loud roars of the electric Pokemon within the forest had flowed into the ears of a member of The Annihilation Segment. This particular member happened to be one of the more established members of the clan. Her rank among her peers was lower only to those that formed the command group of the segment. She had proven her worth many years ago after taming a wild Chimchar, which was able to evolve into one the more ferocious beasts of the Pokemon world. Her eyes caught sight of a young man, who fit the description of the person the clan was after, jogging towards the Oreburgh Gate.

Her lips, covered in purple lipstick, formed a fiendish smile.

Kevin hunched over in front of the Oreburgh Gate entrance, taking in deep breaths as he regained his composure. Darkness filled his vision after he regained control over his breathing. One last glance over his shoulder was all Kevin gave the outside world before venturing into the cave that separated Oreburgh City from the western half of Sinnoh.

A rotten stench smacked into Kevin's face the instant he entered the cave. A stench born from the several Pokemon droppings scattered throughout the small enclosed path that made up the cave. Thankfully, Kevin could already see light from the other side of the cave after only a few steps forward. a quick glance to the left brought another path into view. One that led to what appeared to be a set of stony stairs that led deeper into the cave.

_Fuck that. _Kevin thought to himself.

Kevin found his fear slowly beginning to dissipate with each step he took towards the other side of the cave. At least ten minutes had passed since his last encounter with a feral Pokemon and now he was almost miles away from any remnant of the clan that pursued him. Things were starting to look up.

Until Kevin looked up.

Hundreds of small blue creatures clung to the ceiling. They each had two long skinny legs. None of their faces harbored eyes or a nose. The undersides of their ears as well as their long wings held a purplish color. Four white fangs lined their mouths. Two fangs beneath their upper lips and two fangs above their lower lips.

Kevin's brisk walk slowed immediately and his gaze remained fixed on the Zubat that rested above him. His mind traced back to his childhood when a wild Zubat had attacked him in his Twinleaf home. His father had saved him that day, back when he was alive. Now there was no one left to save him except himself.

Suddenly a loud thump echoed inside the cave near the route 203 entrance. Kevin turned and his gaze lowered from the ceiling to the figures standing in front of the light shinning into the cave. His eyes took in the sight of a young woman that appeared to be around the same age as himself and a three foot ape creature with a flaming tail.

Most of the ape's hair was colored a bright orange and appeared to be slightly shaggier atop its feet. Its snout, ears, belly, three-toed feet, five fingers, and the circular markings on its hairy palms were all a shade of beige. It had a spiky ruff of white hair around its neck and golden bands encircling its arms. Blue markings painted its forehead above its orange eyelid covered brown eyes and red markings colored the area in between them. Two large oval shaped ears were attached to its head and a row of small white fangs lined the top and bottom portions of its mouth.

Kevin knew what the Pokemon was. History books told of its previous form being one of the Pokemon given to knew trainers in Sandgem town. However, as the Monferno glared at him with murderous intent, Kevin could not imagine how small children could bond with such a beast. The woman that stood behind the creature, although covered with an equally displeasing expression, was still a much more comforting sight than the dangerous Pokemon.

The former Twinleaf resident soon found himself backing away from the Pokemon Tamer and her Pokemon. Three steps later the heel on his left foot slammed into a rough boulder and Kevin's reactionary yelp caused all of the Zubat clinging to the cave to dive-bomb towards their potential meal. The loud screeches from the Zubat is was first brought Kevin's attention to the approaching horde of beasts with a literal thirst for his blood. Kevin began pushing himself back with his arms and legs but only managed to move three inches before a gray stony hand clenched around his left ankle, sending immense shock-waves of pain up his leg.

The hand that grasped the frightened human belonged to a gray boulder with rocky eyebrows, brown irises, and muscular five-fingered arms.

Terror returned to Kevin's eyes as the creature began levitating one foot off the ground and roared while squeezing his ankle, nearly breaking it. Fortunately for Kevin, the monster's roar attracted the attention of the Zubat and the swarm of blue bloodsuckers attacked the boulder instead of him. As the Zubat swarmed the live boulder it let go of Kevin's ankle, allowing the frightened human to rise to his feet and dash towards the cave exit. The pain emanating from his ankle burned with each step but that did not stop Kevin from reaching the exit.

A deep breath of fresh air filled Kevin's lungs as he stood outside of the Oreburgh gate. The city, once frequented by traveling trainers eager to receive the Coal Badge, was now a cesspool filled with corruption. Or at least what was once known as corruption. Instead of tourists, coal miners, and trainers lining the streets, drug dealers, regional clan members, and prostitutes walked the city roads. There were no longer any laws disallowing the practice of any of these professions. This was now how many survived within bustling cities that still retained some of the luxuries of the past. Most of the skyscrapers, while worn, still towered high above the streets. A few cars still roared down the roads, paying little heed to the mostly destroyed traffic lights. The biggest economic income to cities this large that managed to survive total destruction from the war were the bars/brothels littered throughout them. There was at least one on every major street, some of them built next to abandoned Pokemon centers.

No one clan owned Oreburgh and affiliations did little to intimidate its residents. Almost everyone that lived and breathed within the city was armed and dangerous, even those that did not wish to use violence knew that violence was the only thing that would protect them. The first thing small children learned from their parents was how to wield an automatic weapon. From handguns to assault rifles, most four-year-olds were a force to be reckoned with.

There were only two entrances to the city to the west and to the north. Both were small narrow passages. One was the cavern known as Oreburgh gate and the other was a narrow path between the large rocky plateaus that surrounded the city. With no strategic positions with which to attack the city, all of the clans left control of the population to small patches of their forces. When the many army clans arrived within the city there were many casualties on all sides with no one side taking an advantage over all others. The city became a death trap where bloodbaths were daily events. This caused the citizens to take up arms and join the fray, which only resulted in more death. After only six months of battle all of the clans within the city bartered a shaky truce. While no one clan could claim the land, the city itself was split into four different territories, which belonged to the four most influential clans within the Sinnoh Region. These four clans each held an equal claim to the vast amounts of natural resources buried beneath the city.

Fortunately for Kevin, the clan that pursued him happened to be one of the two most powerful military forces within Kanto, not Sinnoh. Not even they would dare invade the city just to apprehend him. However, while a large force would not be tolerated, small squads of rival clans were still permitted access into the city, as there was a neutrality law within effect and the only real claim the clans held was to the mines. Kevin was far from safe but he could at least find a place to rest without having to worry about being eaten by some wild Pokemon. Of course the fear of being shot in his sleep still tingled at the back of his mind.

Only two minutes after walking down the large stony steps that led into the city, Kevin was halted by two men and one woman, all of whom belonged to the _Galaxy Brotherhood, _a small remnant of the once unchallenged _Team Galactic_. While their influence no longer engulfed the entire country they were still one of the four most powerful clans within Sinnoh, which in short meant that they were not to be fucked with. All three members of the clan wore worn and shredded black and silver colored clothes. The letter G, colored gold, was stitched onto either the arms or the center of their shirts and jackets.

"Who's this fucking runt?" The female of the group barked.

"Don't know." One of the men replied.

"Want to kill him?" The second male of the group suggested.

Kevin's mind temporarily shut down after attempting to contemplate the measure of the bad luck that had followed him since he departed Twinleaf Town. "Um..."

"I don't remember asking you a _god_-damn thing!" The first man of the group shouted.

The second man lowered his black sunglasses so he could get a better look at the new arrival. "What do we look like to you?"

"...What?" Kevin asked confused.

"Did I stutter?" The man shouted. "I said what do we look like?"

"What?" Was all Kevin could manage.

Angered, the Galaxy Brotherhood member pulled a nine-millimeter handgun from beneath his pants and aimed it at the confused man. "_What?_ Is that a country? Do they speak English in what?" Every one of his words were shouted in anger.

"...What?" Kevin took a step back.

"_English_ mutha-fucka do you speak it?" The clan member yelled.

"Ye...yes." Kevin stuttered.

"Then answer my fucking question!"

"...What?" Kevin whimpered.

The Brotherhood member centered the gun on Kevin's forehead. "Say what again! _Say what again_! I dare you. I _double_ dare you mutha-fucka! _Say_, _what_, _again_!"

Kevin stuttered and stumbled for words, his brain too confused and afraid to process the situation. "Why?"

"Why isn't an answer dipshit! I asked you what do we look like and I want an answer!"

"M...military...soldiers..." Kevin trembled.

"That's right! We're all soldiers and we all live in a dangerous heartless world where people kill each other over a scrap of food." The Galaxy soldier glared. "So why is it you feel that you can just waltz into our city unannounced and do whatever the fuck you want?"

"...What?" Kevin's eyes widened as he realized what he had just said.

A led bullet fired from the gun into Kevin's arm, causing him to fall to one knee, crying out in pain. He gripped his wounded left arm with his right hand and remained on the ground, fearing the next bullet would end his life. Instead, after several minutes of cowering on the ground, his ears caught the sound of the three Galaxy soldiers walking off towards the city, laughing and joking about the recent events that just took place.

_What the fuck?_ Kevin couldn't understand what had just happened.

Slowly, Kevin grabbed Glenn's journal from the ground that he dropped after being shot and tucked it into his pants beneath his shirt. Standing up was more painful now that a bullet wound was added to the several cuts and bruises that decorated his body. Nevertheless, Kevin knew that even though sadistic assholes like the Galaxy Brotherhood inhabited Oreburgh the city was still a safe haven for those wishing to evade capture by the more unknown clans scattered throughout Sinnoh.

It was the best place to acquire a weapon as well.

It had been several years since Kevin had ventured outside of his hometown except for when he went out on his food and water gathering missions. What passed for currency was a mystery to him and as he walked deeper into the streets of Oreburgh the chilling thought that regular money might still be of value baffled and frightened him all at the same time. How could people still value paper over food? It didn't make since. However, the thought soon left Kevin's mind as he saw one of the many street prostitutes walking off with a man that appeared to be worse off than Kevin, even without a bullet wound. He saw the man hand the fairly attractive woman, covered in mostly towels and a skirt stitched together from several different articles of clothing, a loaf of bred before she began removing the poor excuse for an outfit near a dumpster down an alley. Anyone that passed by could view the two and they didn't seem to care.

So it was back to basics for everyone then.

If food and water was gold in Oreburgh then it was most likely this way for the rest of Sinnoh. However, the rest of Sinnoh wasn't a particular subject on Kevin's mind at that moment. He needed medical attention and above all else he needed a safe place to rest. Did such a place exist anymore? Probably not, however, a place that held little interest for most of the city residents would suffice.

"Hey there. You lookin' for a good time?" A female voice flowed from behind Kevin.

Startled, Kevin turned expecting to be shot in the face. "Wha..." Instead his eyes took in the sight of a beautiful young woman covered in a small black skirt and black bra. "I um..."

The woman ran her hand through her long dirt filled black hair and put on her best customer service smile. "Come on, don't be shy. I won't bite...unless you want me to."

Kevin felt a tinge of pity for the woman as she stumbled to stay on her feet. She was no doubt drunk or high on something and her green eyes held a despair that could have been tempered for over fifty years. Instead the despair emanated from a woman no older than Kevin who knew nothing of a comfortable life. Kevin took a step towards the woman with the intention of helping her but no knowledge of how to accomplish that intention.

"Look..." Kevin began.

"Aw it's ok." The woman brushed her hand against Kevin's crotch. "I'll take care of you."

Kevin stepped back and sighed. "Look lady I wanna help you out I really do." He felt his dwindling strength leaving him with each breath. "But I don't have any food or water. All I got is this bullet in my arm, ok?"

After a brief examination of Kevin the woman realized he was telling the truth and scoffed. "Damnit. This town is filled with nothing but bums." She frowned and walked away.

Kevin shook his head as he saw the woman trying to flag down another man. "What else can happen?"

* * *

**Former Oreburgh Gym: One Hour Later**

* * *

As far as Kevin knew, gyms no longer existed. They were transformed into several different things during and after the war. Some became simple bars and or brothels. Others were formed into strategic military outposts as a few of the gym leaders around the world became soldiers for their native lands. Kevin could remember reading about one gym leader from Kanto who was once a retired lieutenant before the war that was recommissioned. He was one of the first gym leaders to shut down all gym battling operations and reform his gym into a military base.

Still there were some gyms that simply vanished with the rest of their cities. Destroyed during the war.

The former Oreburgh gym was unique in its reformation. Since no one clan could conquer the entire city, the gym, built near the center of the city, became a bustling bar and brothel. However, this establishment was different from all others as it was built to accommodate all of the clans within Sinnoh. Military soldiers from clans and local gang members from all across Sinnoh all drank and conversed amongst themselves within the newly christened, _Four-Way-Hell_ bar. The name was chosen for the simple layout of the establishment. Several planks and floorboards were laid out over the stony grounds of the former gym and tables were set up in each of the building's four corners. Each corner was the chosen territory for each clan and the colors on the tables and walls signified what territory belonged to either clan. However, even though the clans marked their territory within the bar, they still allowed other members to sit with them, sometimes. There was a standing unwritten rule that everyone within Oreburgh followed. While killing some enemies was understandable, killing too many would lead to another war for control over the city. This was unacceptable as the leaders of each clan all realized. So anyone caught murdering a rival clan member within the city for no _good_ reason would be punished, severely. This rule brought a sense of levity amongst enemies and friendly alcohol induced conversations frequently sparked between the different clan members.

Kevin wandered into the clan infested bar, hoping to find some form of direction towards medical attention. He knew that help from the clan members was unlikely but the prostitutes might be more willing to lend a helping hand.

_Yeah right. _Kevin shook his head._  
_

Before taking even three steps into the establishment, Kevin was surrounded by a slew of traders and hustlers.

"Hey there, stranger. You lookin' to get fixed?"

"Yo! My man! Hey step over here I got some nice merchandise for ya!"

"Hey baby, where are you sleeping tonight?"

Kevin pushed his way through the crowd of _salesmen_ and prostitutes, keeping his head down and his wound covered. However, blood continued to stream down his arm and several of the bar patrons began taking notice. Most of them, members of one clan or another, paid Kevin no heed. There was one, however, that singled him out amongst the crowds of alcoholics and degenerates.

"You!" A somewhat vicious female voice echoed over the ambiance of the establishment.

Somehow, Kevin knew the voice was directed at him. Slowly, he turned and his eyes took in a familiar sight. The same woman who had followed him into Oreburgh Gate now stood in the entrance of Four-Way-Hell with her hands on her hips and a confident smirk etched onto her face. As Kevin studied the woman's uniform, a realization of the army her segment in Sinnoh belonged to struck him like a bolt of lightning and sent an immense shockwave of fear throughout his body.

Long purple hair covered the woman's head, extending down just above her shoulders. Her purple eyes sparkled with satisfaction as she glared down the current target her clan wanted to apprehend. A black leather jacket, unzipped with long sleeves, covered the tight black sleeveless shirt she wore. The shirt was small and only covered her large bosom, leaving her tight stomach exposed to the bar patrons. A short black skirt covered the lower half of her body and black combat boots were laced up over her feet.

Kevin's eyes remained glued to the insignia on the woman's right sleeve. It was colored with an orange tint, the circle that surrounded the large capital letter. That letter was a capital R. The R was also colored an orange tint.

"I hope you prepared yourself for trouble." Her smirk widened into a sinister grin.

Kevin back away further into the establishment, his eyes never left the woman as she remained still, staring a hole through him.

_**Team Rocket**? This could only happen to me..._

There was no country on the planet, past or present that did not know of Team Rocket. Kevin's knowledge of the group was vast. They first began operations in Kanto, attempting to take over the country and then moved on to Johto. Their influence nearly covered the entire planet despite the fact that a small group of gifted individuals managed to detour their plans on several different occasions. Still, the organization remained one of the most powerful with immense military resources stored on almost every continent. During the war their influence was reduced to their homelands of Kanto and Johto. However, a few years ago the organization sent out one of the better trained segments of their forces, The Annihilation Segment, to Sinnoh in an attempt to gain new ground and resources in the never ending war between the clans for planetary dominance.

Kevin nearly pissed himself.

The Annihilation Segment member removed her hands from her hips, revealing a belt holster with two nine-millimeter handguns holstered on either side of her waist. A crest with the Team Rocket insignia was etched into the center of the circular belt buckle. Her legs stretched forward and she made her way into the bar with a confident stride. When she was within ten feet of her prey she upholstered one of her guns and centered the barrel on Kevin's forehead.

Kevin froze in place then turned his head to the side, begging the other people within the bar to do something with his pleading eyes. Unfortunately the other clan members were too focused on getting drunk and or laid to care about Kevin's current situation.

"You're coming with me." The woman ordered.

"Why? What the hell do you people want from me?" Kevin asked, genuinely wanting to know.

"You accessed sensitive information inside our lab concerning the deity trio." She took another step towards Kevin. "_Very_ sensitive information."

"So what? It's not like it's anything you don't already know."

"True. But that doesn't mean we want others knowing."

"I haven't told anyone!"

The hammer on the back of the woman's gun clicked back under her thumb. "And you never will. Now move!"

Kevin remained still for a handful of seconds before reluctantly complying with the woman's order. It was not until the two reached the stairs that led to the exit did someone answer Kevin's prayers.

"Hey there little lady. Just where do you think you're going with that bloody breeder you got right there?" A cocky male voice halted both Kevin and the woman.

The woman turned and eyed the man speaking to her. "None of your business..._breeder_."

"Now is that the way your mama taught you how to conversate with the men folk? Pretty thing like you had to be raised right by someone. You could at least tell me your name before turnin that cute little nose of yours up at me."

An amused smile spread across the woman's face. "Cynthia Kane, of The Annihilation Segment, of Team _Rocket_." She made a point of showing the man the insignia on her shoulder.

"Cynthia? Now that's a purdy name." The man tipped the brown cowboy hat he wore forward and downed another gulp of his drink. His long brown trench-coat, which was draped over a beige t-shirt and long brown pants fluttered against his movements. "What's a sweet thing like you doin' runnin' around with ruthless bandits like that?"

Annoyed and impatient, Cynthia began to re-aim her handgun towards the source of her annoyance. However, two seconds before she could place the barrel of her gun over the man's head, the man had already upholstered a silver sixshooter and trained it on Cynthia's heart.

"Whoo-wee. Damn girl you sure are a little firecracker ain't-cha?" The man grinned. "Name's, Floyd, Benjamen Floyd and it is indeed a pleasure to make your acquaintance madame." He bowed while removing his hat while at the same time, keeping the gun trained on his target.

"What do you want?" Cynthia frowned, finding it somewhat amazing that Benjamen could remove his hat with the hand he held his drink in, bow, and keep his gun trained on her.

"To sit down and enjoy a nice drink and conversation with a pretty lady."

"Well there are plenty of them flinging themselves around from dick to _dick_," Cynthia made it clear who she spoke of with her last word by nodding at Benjamen with an annoyed glare, "so take your pick."

"You misunderstand me." Benjamen chuckled. "I said a _lady_ not a whore."

"You weren't saying that last night, Ben!" One of the prostitutes shouted.

Ignoring the statement, Benjamen took a step towards Cynthia. "Now why don't you dump the bleeding chump you got there off at a medical block and come sit with me."

_Medical block?_ Hope fluttered inside Kevin's chest.

"How about I kill you and take my prisoner back to my superiors." Cynthia suggested.

"Well you sure can try, little lady." Benjamen smiled.

Cynthia scoffed. "Come on. Do you really feel the need to force yourself on someone from an organization that would surely kill you, and level this entire city while they're at it, if anything were to happen to one of its members?"

"What?" A genuine expression of hurt covered Benjamen's face. "Darlin' I got no intentions of forcing myself on anyone. It's just this day and age a man's gotta be alittle bit more commanding when requesting to spend a little time with rarities such as yourself."

"And what's so _rare_ about me?"

"You're not a whore for one thing. You're as normal as any girl around here is gonna get and I happen to like normal girls."

Cynthia couldn't help but chuckle at his last statement. "So you're telling me you're going through all this _just_ so you can buy me a drink?"

"Pretty much." Benjamen shrugged.

The sheer lunacy of the situation is what intrigued Cynthia the most. "All right, cowboy. One drink."

* * *

**Four-Way-Hell: Seven Drinks Later**

* * *

"So in reality," Cynthia laughed down another gulp of her drink, "we're really just trying to protect the world from devastation and in a _way_...unite all people within our nation."

"I highly doubt that." Kevin frowned at both Cynthia and Benjamen.

"Ah come on now, fella," Benjamen gave Kevin a friendly slap on his injured arm, "she's got a point. If the rockets take over everything then no one will be fighting for control anymore. Devastation ended and all nations united!"

Sweat poured from Kevin's forehead as pain shot up from his arm. For a moment he wanted to kill Benjamen for the slap on his arm but knew that was impossible. In reality he owed the cowboy his life and for the medical attention he was receiving. As it turned out, Benjamen was a wandering mercenary currently on the the payroll of the Galaxy Brotherhood. That much had been divulged because of the generous amount of liquor Benjamen had consumed. However, Kevin began to wonder if it was all just an act. Maybe he was only being so friendly so he could pump information from Cynthia. Thinking of Cynthia, The Annihilation Segment member seemed to be holding her own when it came to the game of information swapping, revealing very little except mediocre things that anyone could learn from simple observations. The two seemed to have a genuine respect for each other and perhaps a small hint of attraction.

However, Kevin didn't give a fuck about that.

What Kevin did care about was escaping his current predicament. Beside him, one of the lower ranking Galaxy Brotherhood members, a somewhat attractive woman with short blue hair, was stitching up his bullet wound after already removing the bullet. Kevin couldn't believe it, he was receiving medical attention for a bullet wound while sitting at a bar table while two opposing war clan members conversed about nothing. And to make matters worse, one of those clan members happened to belong to one of the most feared armies in world history and wanted to take him back to her headquarters.

_What else could happen_?

"So what do you say we get out of here and have a little fun?" Cynthia suggested.

This suggestion seemed to shock everyone sitting at the table, including Cynthia. However, she did not recant her request.

"Lead the way darlin'." Benjamen grinned.

"What about him?" Cynthia titled her head towards Kevin. "He's my prisoner. I can't let him go."

"No worries there, C.K." Benjamen signaled two Galaxy Brotherhood members with his right hand. "Hey we got ourselves a prisoner-o-war here. Make sure he don't go no where for tonight. The soldier that captured him is gonna be a little..._busy_ for the rest of the night."

Kevin grimaced as the man and woman that walked over to escort him were the same two that harassed him when he first entered Oreburgh.

_I gotta stop asking, **what else could happen**._

* * *

**Oreburgh City: Galaxy Brotherhood Holding Area  
**

* * *

Most Pokemon centers throughout the world were closed down and or used for other purposes than what they were intended. The Oreburgh Pokemon Center had become a makeshift holding cell for the Galaxy Brotherhood. Other clans used other shut down establishments such as Pokemarts and abandoned homes. All of the medical equipment had long since been taken and distributed out to other Galaxy Brotherhood facilities.

Kevin now found himself shivering near the back right section of the prison basement, locked behind a door that somehow avoided destruction during the world war and the following clan wars. Although he was trapped and at the mercy of the clan members that had captured him, he had to admit that he was better off than he was a few hours earlier. His bullet wound was stitched up and bandaged and Benjamen even left him with a slice of bread and a cup of water before leaving with Cynthia.

It was obvious that Benjamen had something up his sleeve but Kevin didn't care. He was too infuriated about why any clan would waste its resources on capturing him. Why was he so special? Just because he had seen that Glenn Sommers held pokedex data for Dialga that made him a threat? It didn't make any sense. It's not like anyone he told would care about what he saw. No one believed in gods anyway. Something else had to be going on. But what? And why did they feel it involved him?

Frustration caused a sigh to escape Kevin and his mind wandered in search of something, anything that could distract him from his current situation. His hand caressed the journal still tucked into his pants, hidden beneath his shirt.

_Why not_? He thought. _I got nothing else better to do._

He retrieved the journal from his pants then pulled back the cover._  
_


End file.
